How We Learnt
by haveyouseenmyhaggis
Summary: A new mission brings new crew members on the the Enterprise. A crashed ship in a warzone means the crew have to work harder than ever but what will the price be? Sometimes there are lessons to be learnt before lives can be saved.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: How We Learn**

**Summary: A new mission brings new crew members on the the _Enterprise. _A crashed ship in a warzone means the crew have to work harder than ever but what will the price be? Sometimes there are lessons to be learnt before lives can be saved. **

**Author's Note: This is dedicated to the girls on the RRA! Especially to Voldy, Mysty and Josie who feature in this story. Thanks for your help and characters girls! I hope you enjoy the read! Regarding updates, I'm now a fifth year pupil and my workload has grown stupidly big so I can't guarantee regular updates but I'll try my best. For those of you reading _A Long Time Dead, _an update is on the way. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Star Trek 2009. _**

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Commander Spock looked around the Academy hanger in interest. It was always good to see the latest batch of recruits preparing for their first mission. There was so much life, excitement, tension, determination and eagerness in the air and it was almost stifling. He wondered if the _Enterprise _would have any new crewmembers this time. They'd missed out before because they'd had a full crew. Circumstances had changed since then and the ship would need more hands now.

As he walked he noted that he recognised most of the Cadets: Banes, Hunter, Jackson, Peterson… Most of them had been in his classes at some point or other when he taught during the _Enterprise'_s shore leave. It would be good to have some fresh faces on the _Enterprise. _They were a close unit on the ship but sometimes closeness brought arguments and what happened when those arguments were too big to solve? Squashing his feelings of sadness and loneliness, the Commander headed towards the shuttle destined to the _Enterprise._

As he examined the simple vessel, he overheard an argument taking place beside it. Launch time often was stressful for new cadets. He recognised the voice of Cadet McKellar after a few moments. "Lillian, I'm going," she said firmly, her eyes wide and urgent, "Really."

"But baby!" whined the second voice. When he glanced around the corner of the vessel Spock saw the owner of the voice was a tall blonde woman with big eyes. Spock believed she would fit the description of an old Earth doll named Barbie. "You'd do so well at university! Think of what you could be on Earth if you just stayed and went to Oxford over in England like your Dad did! You could go there! You could be the best!" Spock saw the woman reach out and take Cadet McKellar's hand tightly.

The young dark-haired Cadet looked impatient and irritated. She tugged her hand away at once. "I'll never get anywhere stuck here, despite what you say. I don't want to be here. I've trained with Starfleet for years and I'm not giving up now," she retorted hotly. She didn't take her eyes off the woman, Lillian, in front of her.

"You're only twenty, honey!" the blonde pleaded with tears welling up in her deep blue eyes. She wound her arm around the Cadet's shoulders and pulled her in to a hug.

The young woman pushed her away forcefully and glared. "Yeah. An adult. I can do what I like. I don't have to listen to you anymore. You're not my Mum!"

"I'm as good as!" Lillian simpered silkily with a small smile, "As your step-mum, I'm as much your mother as-."

"Goodbye, Lillian. I'll see you later," Cadet McKellar said abruptly as she made to turn and walk off. She caught Spock's eye as she did so and blushed violently. "Commander Spock!"

"Cadet McKellar," Spock nodded as the Cadet looked flustered and fumbled for an explanation. He merely turned and walked away from the pair, deciding he didn't need to hang around. He had no right to intrude on private matters.

"Will you see me later though?" Lillian said as soon as the Commander's back was turned.

"I don't know," Cadet McKellar admitted before hurrying away in the direction of the ladies' toilets outside the hanger.

"Bailey! Honey! Hang on!" Lillian began as she hurried after the young woman but the Cadet didn't stop or turn around until she had locked herself in a toilet cubicle.

Meanwhile, James T. Kirk was leaving the Starfleet canteen. The shuttle to the _Enterprise, _whom had been docked for repairs and updates from Starfleet, was just about to depart. "Hey, Jim!" he heard a voice call from behind him. He turned around and grinned as his friend and medical officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy hurried after him.

"Hello Bones," Jim grinned looking a little flustered.

"New people joining the crew?" McCoy asked curiously peering at the files in the Captain's hand.

"Yeah," Jim nodded, "Four."

"Did you say_ four _of them?" McCoy checked looking incredulous. They didn't need quite _that _much new blood, McCoy thought in irritation.

"Yup," Jim nodded eagerly as he waved the papers in his friend's face, "A pilot, a field researcher, a medic and a sort of coaster."

"You mean I'm getting a shadow?" McCoy said unenthusiastically.

"I'm sure she won't be that bad!" Jim said with a silly grin on his face.

McCoy rolled his eyes, "I'd appreciate you not sleeping with my team. To be a medic you can't afford to have your senses scattered all over the place by a Captain who takes Captain-crew relationships too far."

"Aw, come on, Bones!" Jim sniggered punching him in the arm playfully but he wasn't really concentrating anymore. There was an excited glitter in the Captain's eyes as he approached the shuttle that would take them up to the _Enterprise. _He couldn't wait to be back on the ship he loved so much and to sit in the Captain's chair.

"That'll be two of them, will it?" McCoy said as he nodded casually to where two young women were waiting by the ramp onto the shuttle beside Commander Spock. The Cadets looked slightly awkward with the Vulcan First Officer.

"Yup, I guess so," Jim smiled as he practically bounced over to them like an over-enthusiastic puppy. They looked at each other nervously and then back at Jim. "I'm Captain Kirk," he grinned holding out his hand for them to shake in turn.

"Cadets Harrison and Harrison," the elder of the two said shaking his hand nervously. She was a young a woman with reddish-brown shoulder-length hair and a scattering of freckles

"Sisters?" Jim asked in interest.

"Yeah," the younger tall one with long dark blonde hair said smiling.

"Cool," Jim nodded, knowing full well he'd get confused. "So what you assigned to?" He checked his notes. "Fallyn Harrison…?"

"Me," the first girl said, raising her hand slightly.

"Piloting? I'd stick with Chekov; he'll show you the ropes. And you…" he said turning to his notes again. "Kaitlyne? And you're our coaster, so to speak?"

"Yup," she grinned enthusiastically.

"Talk to Scotty. He'll most likely need a hand when we get onboard the ship. Well, welcome to the crew!" Jim said gesturing for them to get on board. The girls smiled and nodded and began to walk up the ramp slowly looking back at the Academy hanger and smiling. When would they see it again? It could be a long time before they docked for shore leave on Earth again.

"You go aboard," Jim said to McCoy after the two girls had found seats on the shuttle, "I'll wait for our new kids."

"Right," McCoy nodded and followed Kaitlyne and Fallyn onboard.

It wasn't long before another woman in a red uniform hurried purposely over to the shuttle, waving over her shoulder to a girl heading in the other direction. "Cadet Tenibad," she woman said saluting the Captain as she reached the shuttle with a grin on her face. She had her light brown hair tied back and her blue eyes were dancing with excitement and apprehension behind her square rimmed glasses. "Medical," she told him.

"You'll be with Doctor McCoy then," Jim told her with a gesture over his shoulder to his friend strapping himself into the seat, "Good luck with that, by the way. He's a bit moody today," he said thoughtfully as he looked at his friend.

It was considerably longer before the fourth and final addition to the crew made an appearance, looking flustered. She brushed her dark brown hair out of her sea green eyes and smiled apologetically.

"And you are…?" Jim said looking down at the last file in his possession, "Cadet McKellar? Pleased to meet you," he said with a grin, shaking her hand. "Finally," he added with a wink.

"You too," she smiled politely with a small blush, "And sorry I'm late."

"Where were you?"

"Saying goodbye," she said simply walking into the shuttle and looking for a seat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you all for adding this to favourites or alerts and especially to those who reviewed! Reviews are very much appreciated! I hope you enjoy this next chapter in which we learn a little more about Kaitlyne Harrison. This is for you Volds, and thanks for the idea!**

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There was an excited cheer from the crew as the shuttle took off out of the hanger. Everyone was staring out of the windows keenly waiting to break the atmosphere. They were all eager to see the _Enterprise _again – or for the first time in the case of the new Cadets.

"Here we go!" Jim shouted as the planet got further and further behind them.

"I can't believe we're actually here," Fallyn Harrison whispered to Scotty she looked out of the windows, watching the stars dancing past them. "It's so…"

"Big?" Scotty offered as he smiled sympathetically at the new recruit, "Aye, it is that. Seems tae go on forever!"

Fallyn nodded, accepting his description. "I can't believe I'm actually here," she admitted nervously.

"I'll tell ye this, lass, ye dinnae get used tae it!" the man laughed loudly as he watched the young Cadet trying to take everything in as they began to approach the majestic, glistening white structure of the star ship _U.S.S Enterprise. _"Isn't she a beauty?"

"Yeah," the young cadet whispered breathlessly. The ship was undoubtedly incredible. There was something graceful about it. Something _special. _

"Right," Jim Kirk said as he stood ad up at the front of the vessel, holding tight to a bar on the wall. The shuttle was moving more steadily now so it was safe for him to be standing. He looked around the crew and grinned widely, "Well. This should be a simple enough mission. We're going to follow the _U.S.S Majesty _to Beta Seventeen for a routine field investigation. Also, I'd like to welcome the new girls on our team. Cadets McKellar, Tenibad, Harrison and Harrison." There was a general mumble of greeting from the crew.

Kaitlyne smiled to herself as she saw her sister chatting animatedly to the red haired Scots man at the other side of the shuttle. This was the moment all her training had been leading up to. She turned to look at the young woman beside her. "You're new too?" she asked, recognising the bewildered but excited look on the other cadet's face as a mirror image of what she too must be showing.

"Yup," Cadet Tenibad nodded, holding out her hand to Kaitlyne, "I'm Carly Tenibad."

"Kaitlyne Harrison," she replied shaking hands enthusiastically. "Oh, I can't wait to get on board the ship!"

"Me neither," Carly said, staring out of the window in to the vast expanses of space. She noticed little constellations of stars and swirling colours of gas.

Following Carly's gaze, Kaitlyne watched in awe as they drew ever closer to the _Enterprise_. "It's just like Jase said," she whispered.

"Jase?" Carly inquired.

"My boyfriend," Kaitlyne grinned. "He's a year above me and was assigned to the _U.S.S Majesty _last year. He told me all about what it was like up here but it's something different actually seeing it!"

"It must be hard for you two," Carly observed. "What with him on a different vessel to you."

"Yeah, I guess but it's not like I can't talk to him or anything. It'll be easier now I'm actually assigned to a ship now," Kaitlyne smiled, "But it's just a shame I'm on this one and not the _Majesty._"

"The _Enterprise _is one of the most renowned, though," Carly said.

"Sure it is, but Jase is somewhere else and I'm stuck with the pointy eared bastard!" she said in exasperation. "See, Jase is part Vulcan too. Just like Spocky and they don't always see eye to eye about Vulcan conducts."

"Are you quite done, Cadet Harrison?" came a measured and cold voice from behind the isle beside Carly and Kaitlyne.

Both Cadets turned round at once and Carly gasped slightly and bit her lip looking more than a little concerned, "Commander Spock!" she cried and saluted awkwardly while her newfound friend just gaped for a moment before her lips turned up into an innocent smile. Spock's eyebrow cocked slightly but beyond that his expression remained blank.

"I would advise you, Cadet, to keep your opinions of your superiors to yourself before you end up in a considerable amount of trouble," he said evenly without taking his eyes off the new Cadet. "I also request you report to Captain Kirk at eighteen-hundred hours for a briefing on appropriate conduct."

"I'm sure we don't need to trouble the Captain with that?" Kaitlyne said uncomfortably. She didn't really want to be speaking to Kirk at this stage. She hadn't even set foot on the _Enterprise _and she'd already annoyed the First Officer. Somehow, she didn't think this would go down too well.

"Be there, Cadet," Spock said icily before walking away.

"Dammit," Kaitlyne sighed, "What a start, huh?"

Carly laughed, "Yeah, nice one. But I think he's kinda cute." She watched as Spock sat back down beside Captain Kirk while the shuttle entered the _Enterprise _dock. "We could do worse for First Officers..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: This would have been uploaded last night if the Doc Manager had been working. That was kind of annoying. However, today is the last day of term for me! Two weeks holiday coming up so much more time to do marathon writing! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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The first few steps on to the Enterprise saw the eyes of every crewmember – new or old – light up with excitement and joy. Spock recognised this in the faces of everyone he looked at – the primal thrill of adventure inbred in nearly every species. He walked alongside Captain Kirk to the Bridge and within several minutes everyone was at their positions.

"Here we go, Spock," Jim whispered under his breath as he settled himself comfortably in the Captain's chair. Spock felt his lips twitch as he noticed the look of boyish glee spreading across Jim's face as he gave the command to send the ship to Warp.

Cadet Fallyn Harrison took her seat in one of the ships cockpits and glanced around at the controls, familiarising herself with them. The olive-skinned man sitting at the next station grinned at her, "New?"

"Yup," she smiled back nervously. "Sir."

"Don't worry about it. Call me Sulu," he said as he sent the ship to Warp with one swift, well-practised movement.

"I'm Fallyn," she replied activating the stabilisers and checking the speed of the ship. A strange feeling of bewilderment passed over her; here she was on the _Enterprise _working with the biggest names in Starfleet and being perfectly calm and managing her job without any difficulty. She knew she had a talent for flying but she hadn't expected to feel so relaxed on her first day onboard.

Her sister, Kaitlyne, had not gotten off to such a good start. She found herself lost in one of the engineering corridors. She'd been collecting a tool for Scotty when she'd taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way. She stood, confused, and looked around trying to find a signpost or any indication as to her whereabouts. It wasn't long before another equally confused looking cadet walked into her. Both woman started and stared at each other for a moment.

"You lost too?" Kaitlyne asked looking concerned.

"Yeah," the dark haired cadet nodded. "You too, huh?"

"Uh huh. I'm Kaitlyne Harrison," she said holding out her hand cheerfully.

"Bailey McKellar," the other cadet said shaking Kaitlyne's hand, "Where are you trying to go?"

"Back to Tech Room Two…" Kaitlyne sighed. "You?"

"The Bridge. I'm meant to be mapping our route to Beta Seventeen and I had to go get an access code from the logbook and…. Yeah. Now I'm lost," Bailey sighed looking frustrated and worried.

The two cadets walked along the corridor for a while and eventually they found another red shirted crewmember. "Excuse me?" Bailey probed.

The young man turned around looking more than a little irritated. His mop of black hair fell into his eyes and he flicked it away in annoyance, "I'm busy," he snapped…

"You can't get it to work can you?" Kaitlyne noticed, nodding towards the screen the man was trying to use on the wall. She stepped forward and glanced over the display and smiled. "I know how to do this!"  
"Oh really?" the man rolled his eyes, "Go away and leave me to my job. Newbies."

"Sorry-," Bailey began awkwardly and she would have left had Kaitlyne not hesitated and looked directly at the man.

"Have you tried overriding the centralised database and bypassing the general accessible data, finding the mainframe coding and correcting that?" she said helpfully – and ignoring what the man had said about going away. She turned to the screen and tapped on it, accessing some complex looking displays.

"Cadet Harrison, I believe Mr Scott wanted you?" said an even voice from behind them.

"Commander," Bailey and the male cadet said at once, saluting.

Kaitlyne rolled her eyes and turned to face Spock looking annoyed. "Yes, he does, but this guy needed help and it's all part of my job."

Spock surveyed her for a moment, "Step away from the screen. This is someone else's job."

"But-."

"Step away from the screen, Cadet," Spock commanded, "That's an order, Harrison."

"Yes Commander, no Commander, three bags bloody full Commander!" she sighed and closed down the display she'd been using and glared at Spock in annoyance. Bailey fought valiantly to keep a straight face and bit her lip to stop herself sniggering.

"Whatever grievances you have with me, Cadet, I must insist you keep them to yourself. This is a workplace and I am your superior and I advise that you remember that."

"if you will insult my boyfriend then-."

"Your boyfriend and I differ in our views, that is all," Spock interrupted, "Now, go up the corridor turn left and you'll reach Mr Scott. Cadet McKellar, I will escort you back to the Bridge. I am heading that way myself."

Kaitlyne scowled and stalked off up the corridor.

"And I will be informing Captain Kirk of your habit of speaking out of turn," Spock called after her. Kaitlyne didn't look round at him, merely kept walking.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: And here is the next instalment of _How We Learnt! _This is dedicated to Voldy's-Worst-Nightmare as a late birthday present! Enjoy!**

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Bailey walked quietly with the Vulcan Commander, uncertain what to say to him. He kept his eyes fixed ahead and didn't show any form of emotion whatsoever. She'd had him as a tutor once or twice at the Academy but she'd never been alone with him before. It was a relief when they stepped on the Bridge and she could return to her station and carry on with her task.

As she began mapping again, her mind wandered back to the conversation with her stepmother, Lillian. A flicker of anger rushed through her chest. She held bit her lip hard as though trying to keep in a scream of sheer anger. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath before trying again to focus on her work. She had to concentrate.

Meanwhile in the Medical Bay, Doctor McCoy was sorting vaccination shots into boxes and talking to his new cadet, Carly Tenibad. "So, what made you join Starfleet?" McCoy wanted to know. He remembered his own reasons for joining and shrugged away the memory. He'd given up trying to tell himself that at least she'd be happy because the truth was that he didn't want her to be happy. She was a bitch and he hated her guts.

"I wanted some excitement," Carly said as she labelled the boxes of vaccines. "I wanted a change. Some room to breathe I guess. Somewhere new."

"A whole universe of room," McCoy smiled slightly.

"I suppose so," Carly nodded.

When six o' clock came, Kaitlyne dragged her feet along to Captain Kirk's office feeling dejected. It wasn't that she didn't like Spock – she just found him too difficult to read. She couldn't understand what he was feeling and something about that frightened her. She'd always prided herself in being perceptive but Spock always posed a challenge to her. Although he was half-Vulcan he was completely different to her boyfriend Jase whom was also a Vulcan/Human hybrid. When the pair had met, Jase had become annoyed at Spock's apparent lack of feeling and the meeting tumbled into an argument. Straightening her uniform, Kaitlyne knocked on the door of Kirk's office, trying to look casual.

"Come in!" Jim called from inside and the door slid open to let her in. He was sitting at a desk in the back of the room with a pen in his hand looking mildly frustrated.

"Captain," she said awkwardly.

Jim looked at her for a moment then pointed to the chair opposite him, "Take a seat, Cadet Harrison."

She did as she was asked, flattening her skirt and watching the Captain quietly trying to figure out whether he was going to get her in trouble or not. She could see the little smirk on his lips that she was pretty sure wasn't customary for a boss whom was about to give a lecture.

"Now, I've heard you've had a bit of a run in with Commander Spock?"

"Yes," Kaitlyne nodded, "But-."

"Listen, I know Spock can be an ass at times," Jim said with twinkling eyes, "But I'm afraid he _is _your senior officer and you'd probably do well to remember that." He looked down at the paper on his desk and picked it up, "Well, I think we're done. I've got stuff to do on the Bridge. If you see Spock, it'd probably be best if you look suitably annoyed at me, huh?"

"All right," Kaitlyne smiled and stood up when Jim did, "Thank you, Captain."

"No problem," Jim said, walking towards the door of his office and activating the panel to open it. With a hiss it slid apart to let the pair leave.

Back on the Bridge, Lieutenant Uhura's face suddenly morphed into a mask of alarm. She looked over her shoulder to where Jim was entering the room, "Captain, the _Majesty _has crashed on Telhula Seven," she said urgently. "The crew are being held by the Arden Tribesmen. The Arden Tribesmen are threatening us with attack. They want us to hand ourselves in, or be blown out of the sky."

Jim's face clouded and he strode over to his chair and sat on the edge of it, "Telhula Seven? Cadet McKellar, what have you to report?" The tension was beginning to build up inside the Captain and everyone who knew him could see that. There was a light flickering in his pale eyes; a light that told of adventure and excitement but also concern.

Without looking round, Bailey looked down at some notes she'd brought up on her PADD, "Telhula Seven is a war zone. As in, literally the whole planet is a war-zone. When Star Fleet tried to intervene two years ago Earth time, the Hularons and Arden Tribesmen alike threatened to blow up any Star Fleet vessel in their atmosphere and we had to pull out. They're still at war, and their leaders still resent intervention. They think they can sort this out even when other planets in their system are being affected too." Bailey tapped on her PADD and brought up a map on the screen at the front of the Bridge. A light flashed from where Uhura had received a distress call. The young cadet stood up and turned to her Captain, "We need to get there quickly or they'll be executed for sure."

Commander Spock whom was standing by the door stepped forward, "Captain, surrender would be illogical. They would execute any Star Fleet operative. We'll all be murdered if we hand ourselves over. We should return to Star Fleet! If we remain here much longer we will be attacked."  
"We can't just leave them!" Bailey said, wide-eyed. She turned to Jim, "Surely we're going to-."

"We are," Jim said, looking coldly at his first officer, "We just need to do this carefully. Star Fleet will be onto us soon. They'll realise what's happened soon enough and most likely tell us to withdraw. I for one am not going to allow that to happen. I think it'd bring their war down on Star Fleet further if we turn back. Chekov, announce it to the rest of the ship. We're going to have to do this carefully. Sulu, go to Warp behind their moon and stay there. That should buy us some time and keep us hidden. Then we make our plan."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Here we go! Enjoy! And thanks to Voldy for some of the idea and dialouge behind this chapter!**

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"Kaitlyne!" Fallyn Harrison called down the corridor as she spotted her younger sister walking along reading something on her PADD, "Hold up!"

"Huh?" Kaitlyne mumbled, turning round looking startled, "What is it?" She noticed at once that her sister looked worried and instantly became suspicious.

"I'm glad I found you," Fallyn said as she caught up, slightly out of breath from searching endless corridors trying not to be noticed when she was meant to be heading to the engineering storeroom, "I wanted to tell you before you heard from-."

"What? Heard what, Fallyn?" Kaitlyne demanded, her eyes flashing dangerously as she lowered her PADD down to her side and focused on her sister.

"Kit, it's Jase's ship-."

"Oh hell, the _Majesty? _What's happened to it? Is he okay?" Kaitlyne asked, taking a step back and leaning against the wall of the corridor. "Fallyn, tell me!"

Fallyn took a deep breath and took her sister's hand, "They've gone down on Telhula Seven. The Captain's planning a rescue mission. Jase will be fine. Kirk won't let him die. The _Enterprise _have the best crew in the whole organisation. We'll figure this out." She tried to sound more confident than she felt about conducting a rescue into a planet divided by warfare. Especially a planet that were threatening to kill them. "Right now though, I need to get to the engineering room." Fallyn hugged Kaitlyne tightly and then hurried back the way she'd come. Kaitlyne watched her go and then turned and headed back to wards the Bridge just as Chekov announced over the speaker system what had happened to the _Majesty. _

Meanwhile, Jim was talking urgently to Sulu and Spock on the Bridge, "Right, I'm taking Cadet McKellar and Spock with me in a shuttle to the planet. If they see the leaders coming down to them they'll think they have the power. You, Sulu, and Cadet Fallyn Harrison are going to tail us from either side keeping a safe distance and keeping your shields up," he explained quickly.

"We'll be shot out of the sky!" Sulu protested.

"No you won't if you don't break cover of their moon. Just be ready if we need you," Jim said with eyes alight with adventure and determination.

"Got it," Sulu nodded, "But why Cadet McKellar? She's not exactly in a postion of power."

"She's our field researcher. She can work out our situation quicker and hopefully keep us informed about where the hell we end up," Jim reasoned. "It'll work. I know it will. I'm gonna tell them she's my... I don't know. Someone high ranking."

Spock raised an eyebrow, "You are making a mistake, Captain."

"Trust me," Jim urged, "It'll work!"

"What are you planning to do when you get on the planet?" Spock wanted to know. Sulu nodded in agreement.

Jim looked troubled, "Bargin with them, I reckon. They can't really want to kill us. I'll do a deal with them and-."

"Jim, this is suicide!" Sulu said.

Just then, the Bridge door hissed open and Kaitlyne Harrison burst in with a dark look on her face. "If you alter the Hutron drive and change the frequency of the weapons from 7621 to 7525, we'd be able to penetrate their planet's shields and on top of that-," she began explaining her plan as she strode towards Jim. The Bridge fell silent and everyone turned around to listen what she was saying.

Spock met her gaze with a cool, unfeeling expression, "Be quiet, Cadet. You have been in enough trouble already today."

Kaitlyne ignored the Commander and carried on talking to the Captain, "On top of that if we change the position of the X26 console we'd be able to become invisible to radar and beam the _Majesty_'s crew on board our ship."

"This is illogical," Spock said looking at Jim, "It wouldn't work."

"Yes it would!" Kaitlyne insisted, "Jase did it last year and helped save the crew of the _Falcon_!" She remembered the feeling of pride that had bubbled up inside her when she'd heard of her boyfriend's success. He'd told her all about it when he returned to the Academy and she'd kissed him, in awe of his talent.

"No it would not," Spock said firmly.

"You've never tried it!" Kaitlyne snarled, "The X26 console is still a project under research, that's why you haven't been told! Jase was on the team that were doing the research and he-."

"Therefore your stradegy isn't proven and could-."

"Well, what if we try some of this?" Jim said with a small frown on his face. He looked at Sulu and then back at Kaitlyne. "We can't beam through their atmosphere because they've got all sorts of defences up. You have to enter and leave by shuttle-."

Sulu interupted, suddenly animated, "But I think if we do change the X26 console we could gain enough cover to flank you properly, Captain, and remain undetected."

"If this doesn't work Jim will be excecuted on the spot," Spock said icily.

Bailey suddenly gasped, "Captain, the Arden Tribesmen are vicious. They don't just kill you, they-."

"Yes, Cadet McKellar is right," Spock said cutting her off, "It's too much of a risk. If you're seen as having a secret from them, they'll kill us."

"But it would work!" Kaitlyne insisted, her cheeks flushed with fury and her fists clenched by her sides, "Just because Jase is on board you don't want to-."

"Do you really think I would compromise the safetly of other crew members on board the _Majesty _just because of a disagreement with on of their engineers?" Spock challenged calmly. "I'm telling you, Cadet-."

"Shut _up, _Spock! You bastard! It would work! You just can't stand me being smarter than you and having an answer you don't and-."

"Cadet Harrison!" Jim snapped, "Calm down!" Kaitlyne was standing less than inch away from her Vulcan Commander and glaring at him as though debating whether to throttle him or not. Spock looked evenly back at her.

In less than a minute, Doctor McCoy had appeared and stuck a hypo in the young cadet's neck. Moments later her knees gave way into the doctor's arms. "You prat!" she hissed. "It would work! I know it would." She couldn't say anything else because she began to feel overwhelmingly sleepy.

Fallyn walked in and stopped suddenly. She groaned when she saw her sister being picked up by the Medical Officer, "Can I apologise for my sister?"

Jim looked at her for a moment and then turned to Sulu. "Change the X26 console when you get to your shuttle. Stick with us as far as you can but keep a safe distance. Now, let's get going."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Mysty, for her birthday! Have a great birthday and I hope you're enjoying the story. Also, thank you to those of you who have left reviews. **

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Less than five minutes later several more people had gathered on the Bridge ready to go to their stations. Bailey McKellar had changed her uniform to a spare Lieutenant Commander's uniform to give the impression that she was a high-ranking officer on the _Enterprise. _Spock had suggested she adopt the title of Chief Researcher so that the Arden Tribesmen believed they had snubbed the ship's possibility of probing into details of their planet and defences. In actual fact the _Enterprise _didn't currently have a Chief Researcher. It had been a job shared among the crew up until Bailey's arrival onboard. Scotty was leaning against a wall with his arms folded and Fallyn Harrison was looking worried and biting her lip nervously, thinking of both the mission ahead and her younger sister whom was in the Medical Bay currently.

"Right, all three of you are being monitored by us on the Bridge," Uhura told Kirk, Spock and Bailey. "Any change and we'll know immediately."

"Okay," the Captain said, looking at the images that had just appeared of the screen – on rotating figure for each of them. "And you all know what you're doing?"

"Yes," Uhura nodded confidently and her agreement was mirrored from nearly ever person on the Bridge.

"Just remember Captain," Scotty said, "Once you're inside the planet's atmosphere it's going to be impossible to beam you back up through their defences. You're gonna need to turn the atmospheric shield off before we can beam you back, or fly out yourselves."

"Uh huh," Jim said before clapping his hands once, "Now, let's get moving!"

* * *

Bailey was nervous as she sat in the shuttle with Captain Kirk and Commander Spock. She couldn't help but wonder if this mission was really going to work. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment and told herself firmly not to worry so much. Kirk knew what he was doing, she was sure.

"Ready to go?" the Captain asked with an excited tremor in his voice. Spock didn't reply and Bailey nodded once and looked down at her PADD and loaded up the breakdown of the defences of the planet being patched through from Ensign Chekov.

"I've told them you're coming," Lieutenant Uhura said over the speaker in the shuttle, "They're expecting you."

"Okay. Thanks," Jim said before Spock typed in an access code to the shuttle and then began to break away from the ship. "And we're off. Good luck, everyone!"

"And you, Captain," Uhura's voice said, "Keep safe."

* * *

"Are you all right, Doctor McCoy?" Carly queried as she stood beside the Medical Officer in the Medical Bay. The older man had seemed agitated and restless since the _Majesty _had crashed – more so than most of the others.

"Yes," he snapped hotly as he slammed a cupboard that was sitting open shut and stormed across the room to make not of something on his PADD.

Carly looked startled at her senior officers bluntness but didn't press the matter. She turned her attention to checking the unconscious Kaitlyne Harrison's temperature and making the Cadet more comfortable. She guessed it would be at least another hour or two before Kaitlyne came round again; she'd been given a fairly strong dose of sedative. Carly sighed and wondered what she'd do if her boyfriend had been on the _Majesty, _had she actually had a boyfriend. She'd probably have reacted similarly to Kaitlyne, she supposed. She sighed and walked over to the other side of the room where she'd left her PADD. She tried not to think about the dangerous position they were in. This was Star Fleet. She was used to danger but she didn't think anyone ever really got used to the feeling of nagging worry that comes with it. Sure, it was easy enough to force it to the back of her mind but it was always still there.

* * *

Sulu took his position in his shuttle and shifted his seat slightly, preparing to follow the Captain. He, as commanded, changed the X26 console and took a deep breath. The thrill of adventure was pounding through his veins mixed with the ever-present adrenaline and apprehension.

"Cadet Harrison?" he probed over the speaker, "Do you copy?"

"Affirmative," came the new recruit's voice back to him, "And ready for launch."

"Have you set the x26 console?" he checked.

"Affirmative," Fallyn confirmed.

"Good," Sulu said. "At the ready, Cadet. Launch in five… Four… Three… Two… One…" And with that, he was off into the darkness of space at a considerably slower speed that Kirk's shuttle. He was still anxious about the reliability of the X26 theory but it was an order and he had to act upon it, no matter what he thought.

And so the mission began.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: It's December now! Hurray! Christmas is on the way (and has been since about October according to the television) and we've been getting little bits of snow here so I'm feeling pretty festive right now! I'm doing a bit of an advent calendar for my friends this year, and this is day one, dedicated to the one and only Voldy, whom is totally awesome! Happy Christmas, Voldy! I really hope you enjoy this! **

* * *

It wasn't a long journey down to the planet surface but nobody spoke much for the duration. Bailey McKellar was looking up information on her PADD and trying to decide what might be useful to know. She pulled up a map of the base they were just about to enter and scanned over it quickly. They all felt a sharp jolt as Chekov said over the speaker, "You've just entered the planet's atmosphere. Over."

After that, it didn't take long for them to be able to make out buildings growing closer and closer. "See that building there?" Bailey said, pointing towards a large, rectangular shed that appeared to be made of some sort of steel. "That's their military hanger."  
"Try and land there, Spock," Captain Kirk said. No sooner had the words left his moth than Spock suddenly lost control of the shuttle. This wasn't through any fault of his but because some unseen force appeared to have taken command.

"Captain, something's inter… with … cation," came the interrupted message from Chekov. The static buzz between his words was something ever member of Star Fleet dreaded; being out of contact was a huge worry and risk.

"Command of the shuttle's been taken," Jim said into the microphone, his eyes darting around the area to take it all in.

"I … hear…" Most of Chekov's reply was confused and muddled.

"We're on our own now," Jim said after a moment's silence, "I guess these people aren't taking any risks with us."

"I believe you are correct," Spock agreed. They seemed to be heading to the hanger that Bailey had pointed out. Every building in the area looked similar save for the symbols on the walls. They all seemed to be made of steel and gave the place a cold, empty feeling. Tall slender creatures lined the edges of the roads. They were very much humanoid in structure but their faces were wrinkled intensely as if they were incredibly old. Their eyes were perfectly rounded black balls and stark in their gaunt sockets. For ears they only had dark holes in the sides of their heads and no nose to speak of. Their sagging jaws seemed too frail to move and their necks consisted of sagging layers of dry skin. Each one wore an identical red boiler suit and towered over the roads clutching devices rather like Phasers.

"They're clones," Bailey whispered breathlessly as they passed between the ranks towards the hanger.

Jim frowned and turned around to face the young researcher behind him, "Isn't that illegal? I thought Star Fleet were enforcing that as far as possible!"

"It is illegal. It's punishable by Star Fleet's laws but like I said earlier, this planet is divided by their own wars. They have no limits, Captain. That's why they're so dangerous! We tried to intervene a few years back but we were nearly blown out of the sky." Bailey looked out of the window of the shuttle and shuddered as she met the blank black gaze of the clones, "These people just don't care what they do anymore."

Jim remained silent and thoughtful as the door of the hanger rolled to one side to admit them inside. Several clones fell into step behind them and followed them inside. The hanger itself was surprisingly bright. There were bright lights on the ceiling and numerous screens all around the walls. There were more people walking purposefully around here too. "Arden Tribesmen," Bailey announced as they went past. They were similar to the clones in many respects but seemed much younger. Their skin was taut yet supple looking. When their eyes were seen, they weren't black spheres, they where white and had coloured pupils. It seemed to Jim like they had personality whereas the clones lost that in their vast pools of eyes. What startled him most were the fangs in the Tribesmen's mouths. Each tooth was jagged and lethal looking.

"Carnivorous?" Jim wanted to know as he watched them.

"Yeah," Bailey nodded, "They eat any sort of meat they can get their hands on. Quite often it's Hularon prisoners of war."

"So they wouldn't think twice about eating us?"

"Probably not, no," Bailey sighed, fidgeting with the sleeve of her jumper anxiously. Suddenly, Jim spotted parts of a Star Fleet ship at the otherside of the hanger. It was badly damaged and in pieces along the back of the building being examined by swarms of Tribesmen. It only took him a few moments to make out the name of the ship ona damaged metal slab: _U.S.S Majesty. _He drew in a sharp breath and watched carefully. Parts of the ship were clearly damaged by fire and bullets.

"Captain Kirk," said a grating voice over the speaker that everyone knew at once didn't belong to anyone on the _Enterprise, _"Welcome to the Arden Campus Seventeen-Fifty. You are now prisoners and upon any attempt to escape you will be executed immediately. You will be taken in for questioning regarding the _U.S.S Majesty _and the proximity of the _U.S.S Enterprise _beginning with you, Captain. Commander Spock and Lieutenant McKellar will be taken to the cells and held until they are required. We will try and reach some arrangement that will benefit both of us but you must listen to what we say and follow our commands. Are you in agreement to these terms, Captain?" The message ended almost tauntingly and the tension in the shuttle was almost suffocating.

"Yes, I am," Jim said eventually, looking around at Bailey and Spock and offering a determined smile. "I hope we can come to an arrangement."

"Indeed," the voice rasped and there was a loud beeping from inside the shuttle. Bailey and Jim covered their ears immediately, wincing as the noise invaded their minds and drilled into their consciousness. Spock, however, seemed unaffected. "You're not all human?" said the voice with a tone of amusement, "Interesting. We'll just have to do things differently." Next moment, the shuttle was filling with a vivid purple gas. In a split second all three passengers felt their airways constrict and all thought left their minds.

Far above them, Kaitlyne Harrison was waking up slowly. She groaned and rubbed her eyes. For a moment her mind was blank and then everything flooded right back to her in an instant. The _Majesty, _Jase, shouting at Spock, the console settings, being sedated... "Aw crap," she sighed. Sitting up carefully, she looked around and the medical bay swam into focus.

"Kaitlyne!" Carly Tenibad said, noticing the other woman's return to consciousness, "Are you okay?

"Mmm," she mumbled. "Any news from the Captain?"

"We've lost contact," Carly admitted uncomfortably. "But they reckon-."

"Lost contact? Are they all right?"

"I don't know!" Carly sighed, "I want to know too! But we've had word from Sulu and your sister. The Captain's shuttle wasn't shot down or anything. They just ended up out of contact. We'll just have to wait."

"Hmm," Kaitlyne said, immediatly trying to figure out what she could do to help.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Day six of my advent calendar is dedicated to the totally awesome Josie! I really hope you enjoy this! Merry Christmas! **

* * *

The atmosphere was tense aboard the _Enterprise. _Chekov was anxiously trying to make contact with the Captain again but every attempt he made was unsuccessful. They communications seemed to have been blocked completely by the Arden Tribesmen.

Carly Tenibad walked into the Bridge looking purposeful, "Doctor McCoy is patching through data from the medical bay. He's tracking the Captain and the others through the medical trace he put on them." She turned towards the screen at the forefront of the Bridge and waited for the images to show up. As she expected, they did moments later. Three figures were displayed, rotating slowly. They were simple models – two males and one female – but they were all clearly labelled as Captain Kirk, Commander Spock and Cadet McKellar.

Just then, the Doctor himself walked into the Bridge and looked up at the data on the screen with a steely expression. "Cadet, go back the Bridge and keep an eye on Harrison." He seemed close to breaking point so Carly didn't ask anything; she just nodded and left. As she left the Bridge she heard McCoy say "All three of their heart rates are resting. Their breathing is vastly reduced. It would be safe to assume they're unconscious." His voice was strained and he seemed frustrated. "What's knocked them out, I don't know. There's been no impact to any of them."

A bubble of concern rose up in the young cadet as she left the Bridge and made her way back to her station at the medical bay.

Kaitlyne was sitting on the edge of her bed looking impatient and annoyed when Carly re-entered the room. "Finally!" she cried, "Doctor McCoy said I had to wait here for you. He said you had to check I was okay. And I'm fine-."

"Hang on," Carly insisted, pulling her scanner from her pocket and running it over the other cadet slowly. Kaitlyne fidgeted impatiently. Carly ignored this and said, "Please don't go doing anything rash."

"I'm not going to!"

"Just be careful. McCoy will go mental if you cause problems. He's really wound up by this mission," Carly explained, "Please, Kaitlyne, just watch it."

"I will," Kaitlyne promised reluctantly and got to her feet gingerly. She blinked quickly to try and clear her vision, which went blurry immediately.

"It's just the sedative. It's going to make you a bit unsteady for a few minutes," Carly explained, putting an arm around the other Cadet to support her. Kaitlyne groaned loudly. She wanted to get back to doing things again. She had to do what she could to help.

On the planet surface, Captain Kirk woke up slowly and for a moment just sat still where he was with his eyes closed. From what he could feel, his hands were bound behind his back with some sort of wire. It was painful and even the slightest movement sent a jolt down his arms. He could feel the hard back of a chair behind him and when he shifted his head slightly he realised there was a wire around his throat binding him to the chair. The sharp pain caught him by surprise and he threw open his eyes.

What shocked him was that when he opened his eyes, he still couldn't see anything. It wasn't because the room was dark or because he'd been blindfolded; he just couldn't see. He took a deep breath and tried to keep himself calm. "What's going on?" he asked loudly, wondering if anyone was there to hear him.

"Captain?" came Cadet McKellar's voice from somewhere to his left.

"Are you all right? Jim asked urgently. The room was freezing and a shiver tore through his body, causing the wire bindings to sting against his skin.

"I… I can't see," Bailey whispered with a shaking voice. "I can't see anything."

"Me neither," Jim admitted nervously. "Spock? Spock are you there?"

"Yes, Jim. My vision is impaired also," came the even voice of the Commander from his other side. "I believe we are being held before interrogation."

"You're being interrogated?" came a deep and anxious voice that nobody recognised, "Why?"

"Who's there?" Jim demanded hotly. He felt Bailey tense beside him.

"Are you from Star Fleet?" the voice asked.

"Yes," Jim answered bluntly, "And you?"

"I'm Jase, pilot and engineer for the _U.S.S Majesty,_" Jase said proudly but then his voice became worried again, "You're from the _Enterprise _aren't you?"

"Yes we are," Jim said, "I'm Captain James T Kirk, and I'm here with Commander Spock and Cad-. Lieutenant McKellar. Now can you tell us what's going on? Why have we been blinded?"

"It'll wear off in a few hours," Jase said dejectedly, "And I don't know what's happening. The rest of the crew… What's left of the crew are filling up other cells. I thought… We all thought you'd rescue us."

"We are," Jim said determinedly, "We're going to get you all out of here."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: To the wonderful Mysty, merry Christmas and all the best for next year! **

* * *

The atmosphere in the prison was tense and awkward. Those who were blind to their surroundings were getting nervous and they couldn't hide it from each other – other than Spock whom had remained calm and collected. Jim was tense and agitated – as was Bailey. Spock noticed that both humans were breathing slightly quicker than normal.

"Captain, I believe my sight is returning," the Vulcan announced into the silence after a while.

"Really?" came the voice of Jase from the other side of the room. "How many fingers and I holding up?" The pilot made a rude two-fingered gesture to the Commander and sniggered loudly.

"That was unnecessary, Jossan. You should not let your feelings for me compromise the mission," Spock replied calmly.

"I've told you so many times, Spocko, it's Jase! Not Jossan! Only mum calls me that," Jase sighed moodily.

"You've met before?" the Captain asked quietly. Even the slightest movement meant the wires cut into him and the tormenting scratches were agonising. What he wouldn't give for the self-control of a Vulcan at that point…

Suddenly, light filled the room and they heard or saw one of the clones entering the room. Spock and Jase watched him approach the Captain and cut the wires binding him. "What the hell are you doing? Who are you?" Jim demanded hotly.

"Captain?" Bailey asked blindly. The clone didn't reply to either human. Spock highly doubted the clone even could speak.

"You're gonna be interrogated," Jase said quietly watching the Captain being forced out of the room – struggling all the while. He was surprised by the clone's strength. For frail looking creatures they had a grip like iron. Jim eventually complied with the clone and walked along where it led him deciding it was best not to antagonise the people who held him hostage.

"Captain Kirk," came the same grating voice that had greeted him when their shuttle had landed. "Welcome. Can you see?"

"No," Jim admitted bitterly as he was steered into a cold room. He was forced to kneel on the ground and he bit back a gasp of pain when his knees collided with the ground. He felt the clones still standing beside him. Suddenly someone grabbed his chin and forced his head back. His eyes were held open some liquid dropped into them. The sharp pain was followed by a sudden clarity in his sight. He looked around and took in his surroundings; the room was very much like a courtroom. There was a large desk at the front where an Arden Tribesman stood looking down at him. The man wore a long gown of deep red and his eyes were a piercing cold blue that made Jim nervous. He gazed resolutely at the man and tried to figure out what he was going to do.

"I am Captain Vashteken of the Arden Campus Seventeen-Fifty," the man said loudly watching Jim curiously. "You are here under my control. I could have you and your companions executed immediately if you do not comply with me. Do you understand, Captain?"

"I do," Jim nodded slowly.

"Good," Captain Vashteken grinned, "Let us begin, then."

Meanwhile, onboard the _Enterprise _Chekov suddenly announced, "I'm detecting a frequencies of two-thousand one hundred and thirteen hertz zat is intercepting our signal."

Fallyn Harrison frowned as she heard this over the intercomm in her shuttle, "Really? What kind of frequency?"

"A Biometric," Chekov sighed despairingly, "I thought zese were banned?"

"They are," Sulu said from his shuttle. He was hanging back from the planet's atmosphere, as was Fallyn because they had both been informed of the Captain's vessel being taken and were vary of travelling much nearer incase they were detected through some unknown method – which was what seemed to be being discussed presently.

"They used to use them all the time to code their messages in the Klingon Wars in 2386 until Star Fleet managed to unscramble them," Kaitlyne walked in through the door of the Bridge looking set and determined. "The use of Biometric frequencies can lead to accellerated aging in unstable cells and was banned because of it. My guess is that this is one of the higher biometric frequency codes which could be really dangerous."

Chekov nodded his agreement with the young Cadet. "But zere's ways to break it. I read about zem somevare." The Russian frowned and tried to remember while he tapped into his PADD and tried to bring up the data.

Kaitlyne thought for a moment, "Send them a message on one hundred and eight hertz containing a double-coded virus. It should bring down their interception and weaken their defences."

"Zhat's really risky though, Kaitlyne!" said Chekov urgently, "We could put the whole ship at risk! You'd have to make the virus yourself on the ship and-."

"And I've never failed to make a virus before," Kaitlyne said confidently. "It'll work."

"I hope for all our sakes you know what you're doing," Fallyn said anxiously.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Sorry Josie! And after all that, I didn't really do very much to Spocko! **

* * *

"So you claim you weren't going to attack us? I wouldn't put it past Star Fleet to get involved," Captain Vashteken said bitterly, his eyes flashing dangerously as he stood up behind his panel table.

"We weren't here to attack," Jim said evenly, "I promise you that. We only came because our partner ship came down here." The young Star Fleet Captain met the other man's gaze with a fierce determination that had almost become desperation.

"You see, the thing is, I can't actually let you go easily. The Hularons are paying good money to anyone who could offer them some help," Captain Vashteken said with a cold bitter laugh that made his face crinkle and his teeth flash on show.

"Why would I do that?" Jim asked, confused. "Star Fleet have been commanded to stay out of this planet's affairs."

"They're paying money to the neutral colonies of the world. Any help they can give... But you see, Captain Kirk, I can use those colonies to my advantage. I can make money from you and your little friends!" Captain Vashteken smirked coldly.

"This wasn't part of the deal," Jim growled furiously, "You said you'd let us go!" He made a move to get to his feet but felt a sharp pain across the back of his neck and down his spine. He cried out and rubbed his neck wincing as the clones looked on blankly. "What was that?"

"Like it? It's one of our latest inventions," Captain Vashteken smiled holding up a small cylindrical device made of some shiny metal. "Works with your nerves. I think it's very clever." Jim didn't say anything. He just glared up at the other Captain with rage burning inside him. The Tribesman continued when Jim remained silent, "If you don't comply, I'll have to kill your friends. And your little crew up in the sky. I know they're there. I'll bring them down in an instant. But if you let me sell you and you're accomplices to the Hularons, then I'll let your friends up in the air live."

"What if I say no?" Jim said, knowing full well that his crew could look after themselves. He had no guarantee that the Tribesman was telling the truth. He couldn't just hand himself, Spock, Bailey and the _Majesty _crew over to someone else who could be worse if this was all a bluff.

"Then I might decide it was a good time to show you what's happening to your friends every time you object to what I say," Captain Vashteken sniggered, "You're not the only one who's playing with fire right now, Captain Kirk. The only difference between you and I is that I'm doing this quite literally." Jim felt his stomach turn upside down at the sickening smile on his tormentor's face. It was like he had no regard for anyone. He was a machine who sought only to win every single battle.

"You hurt them and I'll-," he began but felt the sharp pain down his spine again, lasting longer this time. He clenched his teeth together and shut his eyes tightly. When the pain stopped he glared up at the other man.

"You won't be in a fit state to do anything," Captain Vashteken said simply before turning to his left and yelling "Ghastshic varhn tekein dok!" On these words (which meant nothing to Jim but were evidently in the Tribesman's native tongue) another two more Tribesmen entered the room. They were both wearing long grey cloaks and seemed much more brutal than the Captain. "Deal with this one. Put him back in the cells when he's learnt his lesson."

Time in the cells seemed to drag passed. It had been a long time since the screen showing what had happened in the courtroom had been turned off. All three of the cell occupants were uncomfortable and upset. Bailey had gone very quiet and had taken to staring blankly at the screen. The burn on the top of her arm was throbbing dully. She was very aware that her nose was bleeding and all she could do was wipe it on the back of her hand. She'd been released from her bindings but it didn't really help. She sat in the corner of the room watching the empty screen thinking about places far away from here.

Jase was sitting reciting every swear word he knew trying to keep control of the pain across his chest. What sick fool in their right minds plays with hot pokers? He was absolutely livid and it took every ounce of self-control he had not to move too much. There were still wires tying him to his chair. "This is crap!" he yelled loudly.

"Jossan, control yourself," Spock said quietly.

"Shut the hell up Spock!" Jase retorted hotly, "Surely you're angry too! They just drew pretty little pictures all over us and that doesn't bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me," Spock said, all too aware of the pain all over his body, "But you're exaggerating."

"You're the one the smacked around and you're not even angry?" Jase laughed bitterly, "Spocko, they did this all because your Captain screwed up and you're not even angry!"  
"I believe what Jim did was justifiable. I also believe he will be much worse than us," Spock said in reply.

"That's what I never got about being Vulcan. Why the hell would you want to control your emotions? I _want _to smack these idiots! I want to kill them!" Jase snarled furiously.

"Your opinion is just different to mine," Spock said softly.

"Commander?" Bailey said quietly from the corner, sitting up slowly and looking at the Vulcan.

"Yes?"

"I think you're right," she said, "We've gotten off much better than the Captain." She watched as the cell door was unlocked and Jim Kirk was thrown back in. Jase looked set to yell at the men escorting him back but decided his energy would be wasted on clones.

"Captain?" Spock probed from his chair, unable to move. "Captain, are you okay?"

For a moment, Jim just lay where he was without responding. Bailey crept over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Captain?"

"Hmm?" Jim said weakly looking up at the Cadet. "Damn it, what did they do to you?"

"I'm fine," Bailey said, wiping her nose again, "It's you we've been worried about."

"Spock?" Jim said urgently, "Spock they said-."

"I am fine, Jim. What did-."

"No, no, you're not okay!" Jim said wildly. "None of you are!"

"What?" Jase demanded, "What are you on about?"

"I'm sorry!" Jim whispered dejectedly, flopping on the floor again, "I tried."

"Jim!" Spock insisted, "What is it?"  
"They want to sell us to the Hularons. I dunno what's gonna happen now," Jim admitted.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"Dammit what have they done to him?" Doctor McCoy demanded as he watched the representational figure of the Captain rotating on the screen. He read over the facts data that was flashing up on the screen and his expression darkened. "No…"

"Doctor?" Chekov probed anxiously, "What is it?" The young Russian watched the CMO for his reaction and the tension on the Bridge reached breaking point.

"He could be dying," McCoy blurted out, "I need to get to him immediately. He won't have more than fifteen hours or so tops." The doctor looked serious and worried as he turned to the rest of the crew, "He's been given a Arden poison by the name of Shiskartekn. It constricts the chest and slows down vital organs."

"Do you have the cure?" Chekov wanted to know, his eyes wide and frightened.

"Yes, but I don't have Jim, dammit!" McCoy snarled furiously glaring around the room. "We need to get them out of there."

"What about Spock and McKellar?" Uhura asked, looking at the screen where an alert was flashing over Jim about his heart rate.

"I'm surprised you care about Spock," McCoy retorted hotly, glowering at the Lieutenant. Silence fell on the Bridge as if someone had fired a gun.

Uhura stared at the Medical Officer in surprise and shock. "Do _not _bring Spock and I into this. Our relationship has nothing to do with you."

"It's not a relationship anymore," McCoy scoffed and turned back to the screen, "But as far as I'm aware, the Commander and the Cadet are-."

"Doctor?"

"Cadet McKellar…" McCoy said softly, "She's got the same thing. It's entered her system right now."

"But-."

"Whether she caught it off of Jim, I don't know, but she's been poisoned too," the Doctor explained, wide-eyed. "This poison is spread through blood… So say she came into contact with Jim's blood…"

"Cadet Harrison? Have you finished that virus yet?" Uhura demanded of the young cadet urgently tapping away at a computer station at the other side of the Bridge, "I need it round about now."

"Working on it. It'll be done in a minute," she promised, brushing a stray hair out of her face while she concentrated harder than ever before on getting this right.

* * *

"So what's going to happen?" Jase asked urgently from his chair, frustration growing with each passing moment. "What are we going to do?" The Tribesmen hadn't been back since they'd left Captain Kirk in the cell but there was no way of making sure they were safe. They were entirely at the mercy of their captors.

"We're gonna be passed on to the Hularons. That's all I know," Jim said, struggling to sit up with Bailey's help.

"What did they do to you?" the young cadet wanted to know, concerned by the amount of blood she could feel more than see in the gloom of the cell when she helped her Captain towards the wall. She could feel something warm and sticky on her hands and tried not to think too much about it. "You need help."

"I'm fine," Jim lied determinedly, wincing as he crawled to the side of the cell and leaned against the wall, "I'll be okay. Honestly." Privately he wasn't so sure. There was a sharp pain in his chest that was building with every breath he took, making him dizzy and sleepy. "What did they do to you guys?" he asked with difficulty. "Nothing much," Bailey said, not wanting to worry Jim.

"Nothing we can't handle," Jase agreed solemnly, "What we should be doing now is coming up with a plan of action. We saw what was going on in the courtroom and they said the Hularons want help, right? I'm guessing they'll want our information?"

"This is likely," Spock said reasonably, "It is unlikely we will be killed immediately by the Hularons."

"See, this doesn't really make sense," Bailey said, confusion evident in her voice. Although her PADD had been confiscated earlier on, she could still remember most of what she'd read and what she knew. Basic logic told her this was a strange plan. "Why would the Tribesmen want to give information to the enemy?" she asked. "They've been at war for years and according to research, defences have been incredibly high."

"I don't get it either," Jase said.

"Their actions are illogical," Spock agreed, "Unless we aren't intended to get as far as the Hularons?"

"You mean they're gonna kill us as soon as they get their money from the neutral colonies or something?" Jase asked thinking this through. "It makes sense, I guess."

"We've got to make contact with the ship," Jim said quietly. It was becoming harder to talk. He felt like he was slowly becoming more and more drunk and it was nearing impossible to string together his sentences. He groaned and sunk down the wall wishing he could just go to sleep but he forced himself to stay awake.

"How?" Jase demanded, "We're alone down here, aren't we? Can you contact your ship?"

"No," Spock said bluntly, gazing stoically at the wall.

"But they have their orders," Jim said drowsily.

"They will be able to get us out," Bailey nodded, trying to ignore the dull ache in her chest. She glanced at the Captain whom was practically lying on the floor, looking exhausted. "Captain?"

"Hmm?"

"What's happening?"

"I…" Jim mumbled, "I dunno."


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Happy New Year! **

* * *

"Hail them," Kaitlyne said to Chekov, standing up from her station and hurrying across the Bridge to stand in front of the Captain's chair. Her face was slightly flushed and she couldn't deny she was nervous about what she was away to do. "And Scotty, be ready. I've sent you the inactive version of the virus. When I give the thumbs up Chekov, tell Scotty to go for it, you'll only have a few seconds to activate the virus and get it into their systems. When we hail them, that's the only link we have."

"Aye," Scotty's voice came over the speaker, "I'm on it, lass."

"What about the Captain?" Uhura asked curiously, her brow furrowed slightly, "Won't your virus kill them too?"

"The virus won't kill them. It'll bring down all their computers and fry everything they've got," Kaitlyne explained quickly, bringing up a data screen on her PADD and showing it to the Lieutenant. " Once they're computers are down we should have free access to beam them back." She changed the screen and brought up the details of her second virus. "The second virus will kill the lot of them but I don't want to use that unless we have to."

"Okay," Uhura nodded. Following this, the Bridge was strangely silent for a few seconds while Chekov brought up the visual of the Arden Tribesmen camp. On screen was the humanoid face of Captain Vashteken. He smiled cruelly at the crew on the Bridge and laughed icily, "Hello."

"In the absence of Captain Kirk," Uhura began, standing beside Kaitlyne in front of the screen, "I command you to release the crew members of the _U.S.S Majesty _and the _U.S.S Enterprise _immediately." The met the gaze of the Captain adamantly but her words seemed to have little effect on the Tribesman.

"And why would I want to do that?" he sneered, "I could make a lot of money out of your little friends." His pale blue eyes were dancing with amusement and his smile was a little too patronising for the crews' liking.

Kaitlyne took a step forward with her hands clenched in fists by her sides, "Because I could take the lot of you down right now. All I have to do is give the engineer the go ahead." She smirked slightly as the Captain's sneer dropped from his face and a mask of anger and horror appeared.

His lip curled in a feral snarl as he spoke, "And how could you do that, kid?"

"I have a virus that could kill you all," she said calmly but with burning eyes, giving Chekov a subtle thumbs up by her side. The Russian spun his chair round and told Scotty over the comm. link to send the first virus while the young Cadet carried on talking, "Unless you release every Star Fleet officer you have, I'll activate the virus. It'll enter you computer systems and set it to self destruct."

Just then, the screen went blank as contact was broken from the Tribesmen's end of the connection. "It worked!" Uhura grinned, "Scotty, beam them back, now!"

"I cannae lock on, Lieutenant!" Scotty cried anxiously. "They're gravitational force has been interrupted!" After this announcement, the crew on the Bridge burst into worried babble.

"We can't just leave them there!" Kaitlyne insisted to Uhura, "We have to get down there."

"I'll go down to the planet surface," came Sulu's voice over the speaker. "Cadet Harrison and I will fly down to and get them. I'm on my way now. We can make it before they fix they're computers and we'll be able to get in without interception."

"Go for it," Uhura agreed, bringing a hand to her forehead and sitting down in the Captain's chair looking more than a little distressed.

In the Medical Bay, Doctor McCoy cast around the room frantically, looking wild. The only medical worker in sight happened to be Cadet Tenibad and he pointed to her, "You. You're with me. We need to get to Jim and the Cadet as soon as we can. We're going down there."

"Doctor-."

"Don't ask questions, just do what I say," McCoy snapped, rushing to the cabinets by the wall and pulling out a full med-pack and slinging it over his back, "We'll need Epinephrine, morphine-" and this list went on as he grabbed various bottles and shots out of cupboards and stashed them in a pack.

Heart racing, Carly collected the items he mentioned and followed him at a run to engineering and to the launch pad. McCoy was already positioning himself at a crouch on the pad and commanding Scotty to beam them on Sulu and Fallyn's shuttles. The Doctor checked his PADD and winced, "Kirk's not doing so well. Come on Scotty! Energise!"

* * *

"Let us go you stupid bastard!" Jase yelled furiously as he was dragged along by one of the Clones. All the Star Fleet prisoners (some twenty people) were being led across the campus towards a large metal gate. The Clone didn't react to anything said to them; they were designed just to do as they were commanded no matter what. The prisoners were not making the task easy for them; they were digging in their heels and lashing out at every opportunity despite being hit every time they resisted.

An Arden Tribesman was accompanying the party and hit Jase around the head with the butt of his gun, "Stop kicking up a fuss!"

"Why should I?" Jase snarled, stars flashing in front of his eyes, the impact of the gun making him dizzy. The Tribesman didn't bother answering; he simply hit the young Star Fleet officer again, knocking him unconscious.

The pair of Clones leading Jim and Bailey were having considerably difficulty also. The Captain seemed completely incapable of doing walking by himself. He tripped over his own feet every couple of steps and had to be repeatedly dragged up again by the Clone. Jim tried to pull away from the Clone but couldn't find the strength. He couldn't breathe properly and he felt so damn tired. Everything hurt way too much and his head was pounding.

Bailey was struggling to remain co-ordinated and balanced as they headed out of the camp. She felt like someone had her in a chokehold and breathing was a challenge. The Clone escorting her kept setting her on her feet again when she threatened to fall over.

Suddenly, everyone heard something crash down nearby. They all looked around searching for the source of the commotion as numerous Clones ran from the sides of the road to investigate.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Please don't hurt me, Josie... D:**

* * *

"Phasers set to stun, Cadet!" Sulu commanded as he and Fallyn jumped out of their shuttles as they were immediately surrounded by tall, black eyed, wrinkled figures carrying guns. Fallyn nodded and changed the setting on her weapon, firing at as many of the figures as she could. Sulu turned around to Doctor McCoy and Cadet Tenibad, both of whom had beamed into his shuttle moments earlier. "Go! We'll cover you. Find Jim and the others."

Leonard simply jerked his head in thanks and took off along the path with Carly, shooting when he needed to. The young Cadet ran beside him, heart racing but determined to find the rest of her crew. "Do you know where they are?" she asked as they hurried along the road, trying to remain unnoticed. Tribesmen were appearing from buildings on both sides of them and shouts filled the air in languages neither could understand.

"No," McCoy said breathlessly, "But we need to keep looking."

"There!" Carly cried, pointing at a point straight ahead of them where she caught a flash of red Star Fleet uniforms, bold against the dull grey of the Arden camp. "There they are!" They both sped up, pushing themselves to go as fast as they could. They didn't know how much time they had left before the computers were fixed. They had to get away before then. If they didn't maybe they wouldn't be able to beam away after figuring out what was stopping the prisoners leaving. They had less of a chance of getting the shuttles away if the computer systems were active.

In seconds, they reached the party of Star Fleet officers being escorted out of the gate by Clones. Sulu and Fallyn were firing on as many as they could to allow the medics to do their job. "Tenibad, whatever you do, don't touch anyone's blood, drool or hell knows what else. I can't have you collapsing on duty too. "Jim?" McCoy called urgently, "Jim!" He cast around the faces of the _Majesty _crew in search of his best friend, already pulling the med-pack off his back.

"He's here!" came the shout of the half-Vulcan first officer whom had just shaken loose of his stunned guard. Struggling to undo the cuffs binding him, Spock stumbled towards where his Captain had collapsed on the ground when Sulu or Fallyn had stunned the Clone holding him. McCoy slipped on a pair of surgical gloves and dropped to his knees beside the young man. He checked his pulse, pressing his fingers to the side of his neck, "C'mon Jim, don't die on me now…"

"I thought you said he'd have eighteen hours?" Carly asked as she cast around looking for the familiar face of Bailey McKellar.

"It's a guess," McCoy said darkly, "There's no set timescale for these things. Dammit Jim, speak to me!"  
"Mom…?" the Captain choked groggily, "Wha…?"

McCoy winced and tore open his kit, pulling out a shot of adrenaline and stabbing it roughly into his friend's neck. He pulled out a multi-tool from the kit and cut off the wire cuffs around the Captain's wrist, throwing them next to Spock. "Cut off the cuffs. We can't beam with them on. I'm guessing that's what's stopping us."

Carly was crouching nearby beside a dazed looking Bailey. She pulled on her gloves and then pulled out a hypospray of adrenaline, "Don't worry. You're going to be fine."

"Tenibad, get out of here with McKellar. Get to the shuttle. We can't contact _Enterprise," _Sulu commanded, "Harrison, go with them. When you get back to the ship, get them to beam us out."

"Yes, sir," Fallyn nodded.

Bailey coughed violently and tried winced as the hypo was stabbed into her neck. Almost instantly her breathing eased and she relaxed slightly, "What's happening to me, Carly? And the Captain?"

"Poison," Carly admitted, helping the other Cadet to her feet where she swayed slightly, "You're going to be okay though. The ill Cadet nodded and allowed Carly to help her head back towards the shuttle. Fallyn hurried over to cover them in case they were attacked. Meanwhile, Doctor McCoy scooped up the Captain and tried to carry him.

"Allow me, Doctor," Spock said, appearing beside Leonard and taking Jim from hi arms with ease, being considerably stronger than humans.

"Don't let his blood touch your skin," the Doctor urged. Awkwardly, Spock pulled his sleeves down over his hands and then set off after Carly and Bailey while Doctor McCoy jogged along beside them administering several hypo-sprays into Jim's neck and scanning him anxiously muttering, "Stay with me, Jim, hold on."

Suddenly, there was an almighty bang from somewhere nearby. Everything happened so quickly. Spock's eyes widened in shock as the bullet hit his shoulder. Green blood trickled down his back and he nearly dropped the Captain.

"Stop!" came the furious yell of Captain Vashteken as he charged after the group. "You won't get away! I won't allow it!"

"We won't let you stop us," Sulu growled resetting his Phaser and aiming at the Captain of the Tribesmen.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this. And Voldy, just so you know, what happens in this chapter is _not _a reward for what happened on the RRA last night. Heh. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Chaos had descended. Shouting was heard from every direction. Gunshots were being fired from various directions from the Clones. Sulu held his Phaser in front of him, aimed at Captain Vashteken. He wore a serious expression and the Captain of the Tribesmen seemed mildly alarmed. He glanced around seemingly uncertain as to what he should do next. "You won't escape," he hissed, "Even if you kill me, my men won't let you go."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Sulu snarled darkly.

"C'mon, Bailey!" Carly urged when the other Cadet stumbled and hesitated, looking back at the scene with wide eyes. "Doctor McCoy said to get back to the shuttle!" Carly insisted. She knew going back was the right thing to do. She needed to alert the _Enterprise _crew that they could be beamed up. She glanced back over her shoulder to where the senior members of the crew had been held up. For a moment she debated going back to help but met the Doctor's eyes for a second and he shook his head. Sighing, Carly dragged Bailey back along the road towards the shuttle while Fallyn followed them closely.

* * *

"What's happened to Spock?" Uhura demanded, staring at the screen in horror as a red light began to flash over the representative Spock figure's head. The tension on the Bridge was palpable.

Kaitlyne was crouching beside Ensign Chekov whom was using the video link and talking to the rest of the ship, "Ve are vaiting for vord from the Landing Party. Until zen there iz not much ve can do besides vait for them. If ve hear nothing soon, ve vill be forced to activate Cadet Harrison's second virus to kill every Tribesmen in their camp but this is undesirable. Until zen, crew members must carry on as normal. Chekov out." The Ensign shut of the screen and spun around to face the Captain's chair where Uhura was now sitting looking at the screen, frustrated. After a moment of silence, Fallyn Harrison's voice came over the speaker.

"_Shuttle Delta-Seven_ to _Enterprise, _do you copy?"

"_Enterprise _to _Shuttle Delta-Seven,_" Uhura said urgently, jumping to her feet and listening intently to the speaker, "Go ahead."

"I have Cadets Tenibad and McKellar. Most of the Star Fleet workers can be beamed off the planet now. We think we've sorted the problem. Captain Kirk, Commander Spock and Cadet McKellar are in need of medical attention," Fallyn said briskly, "We may not have much time. They're fixing their computer systems as we speak."

"Understood," Uhura said, "Prepare to beam up. We'll leave the shuttles. Scotty, lock on to them."

Kaitlyne hurtled through to the transporter room and hovered behind the engineer as he located the Star Fleet members on the planet surface. In just a few moments she'd see Jase again. She tried not to think that he might have not made it through the crash. He had to be alive.

"And energising in five…" Scotty said focusing intently on his task, "Four… three… two…"

On the planet surface, Captain Vashteken's eyes widened when he noticed the white swirls of energy flying around his prisoners. "What is this? You can't beam off of this planet! I won't allow it!" he yelled. He raised his weapon and just as he made to pull the trigger, Sulu fired his Phaser. The last image of the planet he saw was Captain Vashteken crumpling to his knees, clearly dead.

Moments later, the landing pad was filled with confused and relieved Star Fleet officers. Scotty punched the air and yelled in triumph, "Got ye!" he grinned.

"Out of my way, dammit!" Doctor McCoy snarled at any officer in his way, pushing his way out of the landing pad with Jim leaning heavily on him and Commander Spock following briskly, clutching his shoulder without his usual even expression; he was wincing with every movement with barely concealed pain.

* * *

Carly Tenibad followed with a dazed looking Cadet McKellar, "We're going to the medical bay. You'll be okay soon."

"Damn, the lights… are flashing," Bailey said breathlessly looking at the ceiling in confusion. "I think I'm gonna throw up…"

"Good to know," Carly laughed helping her friend along after the Doctor.

Kit scanned the faces of the newly arrived crewmembers. She spotted him; her black haired, dark eyed boyfriend with the smile that made her heart flutter. "Jase!" she cried out and hurried towards him as he made his way off the landing pad.

"Kit!" he beamed, darting out of the group of _Majesty _crew members and hugging his girlfriend tightly. "You're okay?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "And you?"

"Of course," Jase smiled, kissing her lightly on the forehead, "I am now anyway. I thought I'd never get to see you again. I love you, you know that, right?"

"I know," she sighed happily, wrapping her arms around him, "And I love you too."


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: An update! Hurray! Sorry it took me so long to write this but I've been so swamped in school work. Same old excuse huh? But I am really sorry, if that helps... Anyways, enjoy! **

* * *

"Jim," McCoy urged but his voice seemed distant to the young Captain. Jim felt confused and more than a little frightened for his life. His whole body felt numb and he felt like he had very little control over what he was doing. He wanted to get up and walk for himself but he couldn't find the strength. Instead, he found himself being half dragged by the Doctor towards the medical bay. He felt like he had been surrounded in cotton wool because he felt separated from the rest of the world. He had no idea what was going on around him – only that McCoy was with him and they were headed towards the med bay. The Doctor had stabbed him with something earlier on and it had eased his breathing slightly but he couldn't shake the claustrophobic feeling building up inside him. He was getting harder and harder to take in air again and his head was becoming clouded again.

The situation was becoming progressively worse, McCoy analysed. He noticed the subtle change in his friend's eyes as he became more and more detached from the world around him. "C'mon, stay with me, Jim!" he pleaded as he entered the Medical Bay where Carly Tenibad was waiting for orders. Bailey McKellar was lying on one of the bio-beds seemingly unconscious. Cadet Tenibad hurried forwards to help Doctor McCoy lift the Captain onto the bed next to the sick Cadet. "What do you need, Doctor?" Carly asked promptly, ready to assist.

Just as the McCoy began listing several things that he needed to help the Captain and the Cadet, Commander Spock entered the medical bay clutching tightly to his shoulder, green blood staining his shirt while he walked. He looked paler than usual and the sight startled McCoy when he noticed this. He was used to the Vulcan being one of those people who just _worked _no matter what. He was rarely injured and he was always one of the people who stayed strong even when everything was falling apart – and things were most definitely falling apart right now; the Captain was possibly dying and the bay was becoming more and more flooded with injured Star Fleet officers from the _Majesty. _

The Vulcan stopped beside the Doctor and said, "You will be able to save the Captain, I trust? By my calculations he has a mere hour before the poison completely incapacitates him. Perhaps two for the Cadet."

"Dammit, I know, Spock! I'm doing what I can and you aren't looking so great yourself, you know!" McCoy snarled as Cadet Tenibad returned with several bottles of medicines and placed them on the medical trolley. The Doctor turned to her and commanded, "Go with the Commander. Get him sorted out."

"Yes, sir," Carly nodded, turning round and pointing the Vulcan Commander to one of the free bio-beds at the other side of the room. McCoy watched her go and sighed. This was going to be a very long hour. Immediately, he turned back to the Captain and called for a nurse. "I want the surgery prepared. And sort out a blood dialysis for both Captain Kirk and Cadet Bailey McKellar. Go!"

Meanwhile, on the Bridge, Uhura had ordered for the ship to be taken to Warp immediately. They sped away from Telhula Seven and she brought up a connection to the Star Fleet base on Earth. It was time they were brought up to speed with the mission so far. When a member for the Star Fleet board came onto the screen, Uhura saluted politely and then launched into an explanation, "Sir, this is Lieutenant Uhura of the _U.S.S Enterprise. _I am currently speaking on behalf of Captain Kirk-."

"Where _is _Kirk?" the man interrupted, raising a thick eyebrow towards his greying hair.

"The Captain became ill during the rescue mission of the _U.S.S Majesty _crew from the planet Telhula Seven," Uhura hurriedly explained, keeping her composure as the man frowned disdainfully at her.

"Star Fleet did not authorise the _Enterprise _crew to descend to the planet surface," he said.

"No, sir, but we saw fit to rescue the crew of the _Majesty _when they crashed on the planet," Uhura justified. "We are requesting permission to dock on Earth again."

The Star Fleet officer looked at the young Lieutenant for a further few moments before nodding, "Permission granted."

Outside the Bridge, the ship was a confused muddle. The crew of the _Majesty _were Captain-less and disorganised. Many of them were injured and waiting in the medical bay for attention but the rest were hanging around in the canteen awaiting further instruction.

McCoy worked urgently trying to save the lives of the Captain the Cadet. He was running a blood transfusion for both of them in an attempt to cleanse their blood of the poison to stop it spreading further but it had infected nearly every organ of their bodies. He'd drained what he could from their digestive systems and was now working frantically to restore normal functions in the brain. With a nurse working with him, he'd tried shocking their nervous systems with doses of electricity and was gaining very little response.

Frustrated, he ran a scanner over Jim and swore loudly at the results, "Nurse, we're gonna need surgery. The poison's forming congealed masses in his body. I'd imagine it's the same for the Cadet."


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: Hurrah! Mid-term! **

* * *

While Doctor McCoy prepared for surgery, Carly Tenibad worked on removing the bullet from Commander Spock's shoulder. With difficulty she helped the half-Vulcan slip off his shirt and she inspected the wound closely. It was more gruesome than she'd expected the wound to be. The bullet was a primitive weapon but she'd been told the wound produced was usually quite clean. This shot, however, had torn the skin and seemed to be continually burning.

"Commander?" she probed when her senior had been continually silent for a while.

He blinked slowly and seemed to be having difficulty answering her question. "Cadet… I believe," he struggled, "the bullet contained a paralytic…"

"What?" Carly gasped, grabbing her scanner and holding it against her senior officer's shoulder and biting her lip slightly as she waited for it to provide the results. When it came through, she felt her heart sink. "I believe you're right, Commander." She read through the details of the virus with her heart racing… _paralyses the vocal chords… progresses to the nervous system… can prove fatal… _She took a deep breath and looked at the Commander.

"I have… come across something… like this… before," Spock told her with evident difficulty on his usually stoic face. "I am afraid I… may not be… able to tell you…"

"Please, you've got to try, Commander," Carly insisted urgently, scanning through her PADD for any information she could find. There were some things that a person didn't come across in every day medical practise, and this was one of this things.

"Allow me… to show you," the Vulcan asked quietly. He reached out with difficulty and reached towards the Cadet's face.

"Sir, what are-?"

"Mind meld…" Spock whispered breathlessly pressing clammy fingers to the side of her head.

Carly gasped as she was suddenly aware of his presence in her head. She shut her eyes tightly and images that weren't hers were playing out in front of her. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about this connection but it wasn't exactly unpleasant. There was something warm about it but it was also quite alarming. She watched carefully as Spock showed her exactly what to do to help him.

Once the Vulcan was certain she understood, the connection was broken and Carly blinked a few times and took a few steadying breath. "Thanks," she whispered before turning around to go and gather the medical supplies she needed, trying to ignore the strange fluttering feeling deep in her stomach. She tried not to think too much about the fact that she _enjoyed _the mind-meld. As she hurried to a supply cupboard, she glanced over her shoulder and they're eyes met for a split second. Her heart skipped a beat and she looked away again immediately. When she returned to the bio-bed with a tray of medicines, Spock had sunk down into the pillows. He looked up at her with a slightly unfocussed expression as she administered a hypo spray directly into his shoulder.

Although his task was tiring McCoy kept at it, working diligently in an attempt to save the lives of the Captain and the Cadet. There was sweat on his brow as he inserted the final stitches into the Captain's stomach and he wished he could feel the overwhelming sense of relief that he always felt after successfully carrying out a medical procedure but he knew he wouldn't for a while yet. There was no guarantee that his charges would be okay. He injected yet another hypo spray in to the drip tubes connected to both patients and prayed it would start to help them soon. It _needed _to help them soon.

He turned to the nurse whom had been assisting him and said briskly, "Put them in the isolation room. Monitor them closely." He picked up a small bottle and slipped it into his surgical coat pocket, "I'll be through every half hour to administer this to them."

"Yes, Doctor," the nurse nodded and hurried off to carry out her task while Doctor McCoy rushed out of the room to presumably go and attend to some other patients.

After about half an hour, Carly Tenibad had finished the procedure for combating the paralytic poison. The Commander was unconscious for the time being but she knew he'd be okay now. She watched him quietly for a few moments and then headed away, intending to go to the canteen to pick up a snack now that the medical bay seemed to be pretty quiet.

She'd been in the canteen long enough to sit down with Kaitlyne and Fallyn and pick at some chips when Doctor McCoy walked in, looking stressed and weary. He spotted Carly and walked over to her immediately. "Is the Commander all right?"

"Yes, sir," Carly nodded. "He's fine. And what about the Captain and Cadet?"

"They're both gonna be fine," McCoy said with a small smile of relief. "I don't expect either of them to be back on duty for a while because they're both in the isolation unit and they will be for some time. Nobody's allowed in unless I've cleared them for access. The poison they contracted is an incubating venom that could return several times before it's fully out of their systems. It could be some time before they're clear."

"I can't see the Captain liking being isolated," Scotty said, over hearing the conversation and pausing to join in.

"Hell, Bailey either," Carly laughed slightly.

"Well, they'll have each other. But I'll warn you, don't give in to any of the Captain's pleading," McCoy told them, "He's in isolation until I say otherwise. Him and Bailey will just have to keep each other entertained."

"I feel sorry for the Cadet," Scotty laughed and wandered off to get food. Carly laughed along with the others but her attention was still held by the curious mind-meld with Commander Spock. She couldn't help think that something more than mere information had passed between them.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Happy Chinese New Year! :D **

* * *

When Bailey woke she wasn't entirely sure where she was or even who she was. It took a moment for her to come back to reality and to register the strangeness of the situation. She was gazing up at a dull light on the ceiling and she felt like she was wrapped in cotton wool. It felt like she should be in pain but she wasn't. There was a dull ache pounding through her body but it didn't bother her in her little safe bubble.

The next thing she became aware of was the oxygen mask attached to her mouth and nose. A flicker of fear ran through her that moment as she began to wonder what had happened to her to land her in a hospital. She could hear a low beeping noise that slowly began to increase in pace as she started to worry. She tried to sit up but found herself unable to.

"Cadet McKellar!" came a gruff, tired voice from somewhere near by and she glanced around, trying to see who was speaking to her. Moments later she found Doctor McCoy standing by her bedside pulling off the oxygen mask on her face and shining a bright light in her eyes. "Can you hear me, Cadet?"

"Yes, sir," Bailey said quietly hating the dry feeling in her mouth. She watched in confusion as the Doctor administered a shot into a tube beside her bed. She followed it and realised with a jolt that it was leading into her forearm. She shuddered and asked, "Doctor, what… What happened?"

"You and the Captain were poisoned. Or more, he bled all over you," McCoy grumbled, "My job would have been so much easier if those bastards hadn't tried to take him to pieces and let him bleed everywhere."

"The Tribesmen…? Where are they? Are we-?"

"We're safe, kid," McCoy said, nodding slowly, "You and the Captain are going to have to stay in here for the time being until you're both clear of the virus. I don't know how long that's going to take but I can get you some food if you like?"

Bailey shook her head, "Not hungry, sir."

"Okay. I'll be back in about half an hour to give you your next painkiller," he said before giving her a comforting smile and heading over to the other bed in the room which Bailey had only just become aware. She saw Captain Kirk lying there still asleep, pale faced and ill-looking. She didn't say anything as she observed the Doctor checking his vitals before walking out of the room muttering something that resembled "Dammit Jim."

A few moments later, she felt too sleepy to stay awake much longer. A few seconds after she became aware of that, she was sound asleep again.

* * *

They couldn't have been very far from planet Earth when Jase was walking along a corridor of the ship hand in hand with Kaitlyne, and Carly walking beside them, chatting animatedly. His speech stopped suddenly when Commander Spock walked down the corridor towards them with his arm in a sling, having made an otherwise full recovery after being shot. The Vulcan nodded at the group of Cadets as they passed each other. None of them missed the strange expression that passed over the young medic's face as the Commander headed away. She looked over her shoulder and was surprised to notice the Vulcan doing the same thing. She looked away immediately blushing slightly and kept her eyes fixed on the floor.

Jase watched her for a moment before turning and running off after the Commander with a mischievous look in his eyes. "Jase?" Kaitlyne called after him, slightly anxious. "Where are you going?"  
"I need to speak to Spocko for a minute. I'll be back!" he called as he hurried away.

"Well that was weird," Carly said bluntly, as both cadets watched Jase vanish around a corner.

It didn't take the young half-Vulcan to catch up with Spock. When he did, he called out after him, "Hey, Spocko!" At this, a couple of workers passing by looked shocked and gaped at each other before hurrying away to avoid being present when anything nasty happened.

"Jossan," Spock said evenly as he turned around and looked at the younger man stoically.

"Hey. What's the deal between you and the Cadet Tenibad? Huh? I saw the way she looked at you on the way passed. It's kinda obvious," Jase probed with a grin.

"If it is obvious, Jossan, then why ask?" Spock retorted smoothly, turning to leave to attend to what he thought were more important matters.

"Aw, come on man, you bonded, didn't you?" Jase asked with a playful smile. "Okay, so I know it was nothing romantic at the time. She was probably saving your life or something equally as crazy but that doesn't change what happened. You two are bonded!" He linked his fingers together in front of him to emphasis the point while he watched Spock's eyebrow shoot upwards.

"I have just left a relationship with a human and at present I do not intend to enter into another one," Spock informed him bluntly.

"Yeah, but-."

"Jossan. You are dismissed," Spock told him coldly, walking away briskly.

"But I'm right, aren't I?" he laughed. Sometimes he wondered how he and Spock came to be so different. For both being born half-Vulcan surely they should have more in common than a shared heritage? Jase sighed and turned to head back towards his girlfriend. Maybe he'd have been more like Spock if he'd grown up on Vulcan with his father as opposed to living on Earth with his mother he'd have been more… Vulcan. As it happened, he behaved like a human and he was happy with that but sometimes he just wished he had another half-Vulcan who would understand how difficult it was to grow up with two conflicting nationalities. Instead Spock just seemed to look down on him. The important thing was, he was happy though. He had Kit and he loved her, no matter what.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: This goes against all my principles of updating! I never do it twice in a day! But since there's only three people reviewing this... Well, I might as well give in to their impatience. And I'd like to thank Voldy for a lot of the dialouge in the latter half of this chapter! **

* * *

Things were disorganised and muddled when the _Enterprise _docked in San Francisco again after an hour or so. There were innumerable stretchers to be carried off of the ship and rushed to the medical bay in the base as well several cases of the walking wounded. Star Fleet officials were interrogating crewmembers at every opportunity and tension was thick in the air.

Captain Kirk and Cadet McKellar were rushed to the medical bay and put safely in isolation again to recover in peace. This fact seemed to somewhat annoy the chairman of Star Fleet whom was desperate to talk to Kirk about the mission but upon McCoy's request, agreed to wait until the Captain had regained his strength.

Two days later things had calmed down and Carly Tenibad found herself working in the medical bay assisting with the write-ups of procedures on board the ship.

"Cadet? Are you all right?" Doctor McCoy asked while she helped file away some papers into a folder looking moody and grumpy. The Doctor, although irritated and stressed himself, was slightly concerned that the young Cadet was taking the situation quite badly.

She blinked in surprise at the question and then nodded distractedly, "Yes, thank you, sir." In actual fact she had no idea what was wrong with her. She just felt inexplicably angry and had done for the last two days. It was worrying her because for the most part there was nothing for her to feel so enraged by. She sighed and carried on with her work, counting down the time until she could get to the canteen and grab something to eat and talk to her friends.

* * *

Elsewhere in the building, Bailey McKellar and Jim Kirk were sitting up in bed talking quietly. The room they found themselves in was pretty boring consisting only of their beds and various monitors and medical equipment.

"How long are we in here anyway?" Jim asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

"I don't know, Captain," Bailey sighed, fidgeting with her sheets.

"I hate sitting still," Jim moaned impatiently with a small smile.

"You're not the only one, sir," Bailey agreed. She was a pretty restless character and the thought of being bed-bound for days on end was already driving her mad. She couldn't deny that she still felt as awful as Jim looked but she just wanted out. "These is gonna be a long few days," she reflected out loud. "Not that I'm annoyed to be stuck here with you- I don't mean that um… unprofessionally, sir, I mean that I dunno, there are worse people to be stuck with?" Bailey felt her face flushing furiously and she wished she hadn't spoken.  
"I know what you meant," Jim grinned brightly. The expression looked strange on his face when he was evidently very sick but it stopped Bailey's babbling. "And we could make it fun!"

* * *

Doctor McCoy wasn't the only one to notice Carly's strange attitude. Kaitlyne Harrison was getting somewhat annoyed with the situation because she knew _exactly _what was going on. All she'd gathered was that Carly was pretty smitten with the half-Vulcan Commander and even though she didn't see the attraction, Kaitlyne felt obliged to help the situation. She knew _exactly _what had happened between Carly and the Commander but she hadn't yet brought it up with her friend. Instead she decided to talk to Spock himself.

And so it was that she found herself standing outside Spock's office taking a deep nervous breath. She knocked on the door and entered when he called his permission. "Sir we need to talk. Have you… Er, have you got a minute?"

Spock observed her quietly and then said, "That depends what you want to talk about."

Forcing herself to remain polite, Kaitlyne said, "Well, Carly said -."

"I am not interested in gossip among the Cadets," Spock interrupted abruptly, looking down at the notes on the table he'd been reading through before the Cadet had entered the room.

"Not even when it concerns a mental link between you and one of my best friends?" Kaitlyne said sceptically with a small smile. She was pleased to see her words made him stop and look up with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I know about the link," she clarified, blushing slightly under the intensity of the Commander's eyes, "I know how to recognise it. See the thing is, Jase and I have the same thing."

"Then you are aware of its inconvenience," Spock said bluntly, apparently giving up the denial that such a link existed. "What happened between Cadet Tenibad and myself was an accidental side-effect of a mind-meld and I-."

"Inconvenient as it may be, Sir," Kaitlyne carried on ignoring as usual the fact that Spock was her superior officer and glared at him, "Your determination to ignore it in the hope that it'll go away isn't helping - you're hurting Carly."

"Cadet, I think you should remember that-."

Maybe if Kaitlyne had met Spock through Star Fleet and hadn't met him through an argument between Jase and the Commander, then she'd have had more respect for him but as it happened, she didn't really care. For the sake of her job she forced herself to calm down though. She took a deep breath and tried again. "I'm speaking on behalf of a friend. Your actions are hurting Carly - she feels your anger as an anger toward her and it's tearing her apart. That's what that bond does! And I'm guessing you can feel that, too."

"What do you want me to do?" Spock demanded.

"I want Carly to be safe," Kit replied, "and if that means having to give you a boost of serotonin in your sleep then so be it. I'm not going to let your anger hurt her any more than it has." The young Cadet's expression became a sound warning as she walked forwards and placing a note down on the table in front of the Vulcan and then turning tail and leaving.

When he was alone again, the Commander looked down at the small piece of paper on the desk and then opened it; his eyes widened as he saw what was written on the paper.

_She loves you, you know._

_Kit_


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: Enjoy!**

* * *

"Light bulb," Bailey sighed blandly, staring up at the ceiling again while she sat cross-legged in her pyjamas on the end of the Captain's bed in the isolation unit.

"Dammit," Jim said rolling his eyes slightly and wincing as he sat up and looked around the room. "Your go, I guess."

"Captain, we've been playing I-Spy for ages now and there's still nothing new in this room," the young Cadet pointed out laughing gently. They'd been in the room for a couple of days now and Doctor McCoy still insisted they stayed there and gained all the rest they could.

"Point taken," Jim smiled, sipping from the water cup beside his bed. He still looked pale and he hadn't eaten properly in for the duration of their stay in isolation but he was certainly much more alert than he had been for the previous few days. The pair had gotten on quite well together and had spent a lot of the time playing silly games and just generally chatting. Bailey couldn't help but feel more than a little attracted to the Captain and he was a definite flirt even if he was ill.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Doctor McCoy appeared in the room wearing his usual getup of gloves and white coat.

"Sir," Bailey saluted wearily as he came to a halt beside Jim's bed.

"Good morning," McCoy nodded. "Bailey, you've got a visitor. She'd like to come in and speak to you. As a relation of yours I saw fit to allow her to visit."

Bailey looked confused and immediately wondered who would want to come and see her; her father was off planet for a lot of the time and Lillian, her stepmother…? "Who?"

Just before McCoy answered her question, a slim blonde woman entered the room with a simpering smile on her face. When she spotted the young Cadet she began to rush towards her with arms outstretched. McCoy immediately held out an arm to stop her, glaring moodily, "Madam, I told you physical contact is forbidden. Bailey could still be infected and you could become sick too."

"Lillian," Bailey stared at the woman in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you were ill and I came at once!" Bailey's stepmother explained as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "I couldn't leave you here on your own!"  
"I'm not on my own," Bailey said darkly, "You didn't need to come."

"Oh honey, I did!" Lillian said making another move towards her stepdaughter only to be stopped by the Doctor again. "You're father and I have been so worried about you off in space by yourself!"  
"She wasn't by herself," Jim interrupted looking mildly irritated by the situation, "She was with me-."

"And who might you be?" Lillian demanded hotly, her pink cheeks flushing dark red in apparent anger.

Jim raised an eyebrow slightly at the question and replied, "I'm her Captain, Mrs McKellar, and I would advise you to remain civil while speaking to myself or any member of Star Fleet. You are here as a visitor at our discretion and you could be removed from the premises at our command."

Lillian laughed bitterly, "Some Captain you must be! You got yourself hurt and dragged my little girl down with you!"

"Lillian! I am _not _your little girl and I never will be! To start with, I'm twenty! And you're not my mum!" Bailey snarled furiously, "You're never like this at home! You don't give a damn about me really! You're just here for show and I'm sick of it!"

"Bailey, honey," Lillian began.

"I don't want to hear it! You only come along trying to look after me when Dad's around just to make him believe you care. He's probably busy doing some business stuff and can't come see me so you volunteered. When he's off-planet, you don't care! So just leave it that way! Don't pretend anymore, please!"

"I knew this place would change you," Lillian growled, "I knew this place would make you hate me!"

Bailey stared at her, "I don't hate you! I just don't want you interfering in my life! Please, just go home! I like Star Fleet and I'm not dropping out just because you want me to."

"Do you have any idea what it's like for your dad with you away in space?" Lillian demanded.

"He doesn't mind. He does the same thing. He said he'd be happy for me whatever I did so please, don't try that one on me. Go. Home."

"Mrs McKellar, I'm going to have ask you to leave," McCoy said sternly pointing towards the door with a steely glare. "The Cadet doesn't want you here. These are my patients and I can't have you-."  
"I'm going," Lillian snarled and she began to storm towards the door, her fake designer purple coat blowing out behind her. Just when she reached the exit she turned around again to face Bailey, "Just don't expect me to be here when you get you lose everything in this organisation." With that she spun on her heel and walked out leaving and awkward and tense silence behind her.

"I'm…" Bailey began after a while, "I'm sorry, sir." Blinking back angry tears she kept her eyes fixed firmly on the floor.

"Why?" Jim asked quietly, "It's not your fault your step mom's a nightmare. And believe me, I know about stepparents." His voice was bitter but it wasn't aimed at the Cadet. Relieved, she looked up at him and smiled weakly before wiping her eyes furiously and trying to pull herself together.

* * *

Outside the isolation ward, Spock saw the blonde woman storm away and wondered what she'd been wanting. He recognised her distinctly as the woman with whom Cadet McKellar had been arguing before the _Enterprise _had launched. Dismissing thoughts of the woman, he resumed his search for Cadet Tenibad. Walking slowly around the medical bay, he spotted her clearing up some chemical bottles in the far corner.

"Cadet Tenibad," he said evenly.

The young woman gave a start and spun around to face him looking alarmed, "Commander!" she saluted briskly and waited anxiously to see what he wanted.

"I believe we now share an uncommon bond," the half-Vulcan said without hesitation. The abruptness of his statement caught the Cadet by surprise and she just listened as the Commander carried on speaking. "I am also aware that this bond is causing us both harm through shared emotions."

"Mmm hmm," Carly mumbled, uncertain of what to say in this situation.

"I am willing to try to come to some arrangement between us that will be beneficial," Spock said calmly. "I would like to meet with you after your shift to discuss this. At present I must leave and meet the crew of the _U.S.S Adams _upon their return."

"Yes, sir," Carly nodded with a small smile as the Commander walked away. Not only was she relieved to hear that Spock was willing to talk this through with her, the _U.S.S Adams _had returned and one of her best friends, Cadet Maple Hood, had been on a placement onboard that ship. She couldn't wait to talk to her about all of this.


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: Nothing very much happens but it's an update all the same. :D**

* * *

"You know what I want to know?" Jase asked casually as he walked along the corridor past the isolation ward that afternoon. He smiled slyly at the plain white door and then turned to Kaitlyne, Fallyn and Carly whom were walking on either side of him.

"What?" Carly asked thoughtfully.

"What they're doing in there," Jase grinned, "Because-."

"Ew! No!" Kaitlyne burst out abruptly laughing and wincing at the same time. "Jase!" Fallyn and Carly blinked in confusion and watched the pair bemusedly. Jase jut laughed while Kaitlyne punched him playfully in the arm saying, "I so did not need that!"

"Need what?" Carly asked.

"Doesn't matter," Kaitlyne shook her head, "Just Jase's sick mind is all."

"You know what he's thinking?" Fallyn said incredulously. "That's just a little weird."  
Kaitlyne shrugged, "It's a long story but I've got a feeling Carly will understand soon enough. It's all to do with the Vulcan mind-meld thing and transference of strong emotions and thoughts."

"Speaking of which," Carly interrupted, "I'm going to see Spock later on today."

"Really?" Kaitlyne beamed brightly her eyes lighting up with triumph, "So my plan worked?"

"What plan?"

"Oh, I paid the Spockster a little visit," Kaitlyne smiled contentedly as the group wandered outside to spend some time in the sunlight outside just relaxing and meet Carly's friend from the _U.S.S Adams_. Nobody bothered to interrogate Kaitlyne further – they could all imagine the sort of scheme she'd have come up with to blackmail the Commander. The only thing Fallyn wanted to know was, "Why the hell aren't you expelled yet?"

Laughter filled the air at this question and then suddenly Carly cried out, "_Maple!" _Then she ran towards a girl in a red uniform wandering around the grounds evidently looking for something.

"Carly!" the tall, dark haired girl grinned, hurrying towards the group with her long plait bouncing over her shoulder. The two Cadets hugged each other tightly happily. "I missed you!" Maple said.

"I missed you too!" Carly said, "And there is so much I need to tell you! Like, _so _much has happened. You know how I went on the _Enterprise_?"

"Yeah?" Maple said brightly, "How did it go?"

"Interestingly."

"Oooh!" Maple grinned, "Do tell!"

Bailey hugged her knees still sitting at the end of the Captain's bed and fought to keep herself calm. She didn't need Lillian – she never had – but the confrontation had upset her anyway. Doctor McCoy had left to make sure Lillian had got out okay leaving the Captain and the Cadet alone together again.

"Don't worry about her," Jim said after Bailey had been silent for quite a while. He looked sympathetic and concerned.

"I'm not," Bailey said quickly, "I just… I dunno. Sorry, sir."  
"It's fine," Jim said waving away her apology, "Seriously, I know what its like to have a bitch of a stepparent."

"Really?" Bailey asked quietly, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her pyjama shirt.

"Hell yeah," Jim nodded wincing slightly as he shuffled closer to the Cadet and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "It's not your fault."  
"I know," Bailey sighed, "I just wish she'd never joined our family. I was much happier without her. Dad always seemed blind to how much she hated me." She thought back to all the times in her childhood when Lillian had caused problems either by overacting her so-called love or not showing anything at all. She couldn't win with Lillian. It was like nothing she did was ever good enough for that woman.

"I take it she didn't want you to join Star Fleet?" Jim asked watching the Cadet carefully.

Bailey shook her head, "No. She thought I should be staying at home and supporting Dad more. He goes off on business trips all the time and she says I should be there to look after her and the house while he's away. She said I could go to university in England if I wanted to but I know she wouldn't have let me. She'd have trapped me in the house to look after her. The stupid cow."

"But you're here now you're doing fine," Jim said with a smile.

"Thank you, sir," Bailey smiled gratefully.

"I think we can drop the sir thing now, can't we?" Jim laughed gently kissing her cheek. He smiled as he pulled away before saying, "I'd go get some rest before McCoy comes in and starts doing more tests on us."

* * *

Jase, having decided to leave the women to their gosipping, wandered away through the grounds by himself. The grounds were filled with people milling around trying to soak up as much sunlight as they could and have some downtime from the hectic and demanding course that was Star Fleet training. After a while he spotted a very still figure standing beneath the shade of a tree looking out into the distance. Recognising him at once, Jase sped up and walked purposefully towards Commander Spock. "Hello," he said brightly upon arrival.

Spock looked calmly at the other half-Vulcan and nodded his greeting, "Jossan. What is it you require?"

"It's Jase," the younger man corrected immediatly and instinctively but then he carried on, "I just heard that you were going to talk to Carly tonight?"

"What concern is this to you?" Spock wanted to know. He fixed his gaze on Jase and waited patiently for a response.

"Come on, Spock!" Jase said despairingly rolling his eyes slightly. "Kit and I have the same connectiong thing as you and Carly. That's why it concerns me! Kit and I did the research and we know what it's all about. When you're it happens when one party isn't quite in control - poisoned for example, like you were - and they take part in a mind-meld. It-."

Spock interupted quickly before the other man could get any further with his explaination, "I did not ask for help from you, Jossan."

"I was just saying! Like I told you, Kit and I did some research into the whole thing. I spoke to a couple of Vulcan Elders - including the other Spock - and spoke to a few good doctors we know. So if you want information, Kit and I would be happy-."

"I seek no help from your girlfriend or yourself," Spock said evenly.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Enjoy! Now, off to eat dinner and do revision. Oh the joys of school, huh?**

* * *

"So you and the green Commander are, like, bonded?" Maple gaped, sitting cross-legged on the grass after having listened to Carly, Kaitlyne and Fallyn explain everything that had happened on the _Enterprise. _

"Yeah, something like that," Carly nodded with a small smile. It sounded absolutely ludicrous. If someone had told her all those years ago that she would end up with a connection to one of her senior officers that meant she could feel what he felt, she'd have scoffed and not believed it. Now, however, she was feeling a little confused and afraid but she did really like Spock. It could have been worse.

"That's crazy!" Maple laughed, flicking a stray hair out of her eyes, "Remember back when we went to lectures and I used to think he loved his job too much…?"  
"Yeah?" Carly said uncertainly, unsure where this was leading.

"Now… Man, he loves you now!" Maple giggled, "That was so not what I thought was gonna happen to him. Carly and Spocko, up a tree-."

Kaitlyne smiled broadly, "Spocko?"

"Yup," Maple grinned shiftily, "I thought his name needed a bit of livening up."  
Kaitlyne looked at the other Cadet for a few moments and then nodded with satisfaction, "I think I'm going to like you."

"Jeez, look out Commander Spock!" Fallyn laughed as she lay back on the grass watching the clouds passing above them. It was strange to think that mere days before they'd been far, far above those clouds, beyond the atmosphere and among the stars.

* * *

Jim watched the young Cadet staring blankly at the wall as McCoy took samples of her blood for testing and recognised the expression on her face. He knew what it was like to be confused about who your family were, to have someone missing in your life and to have someone there you don't want.

"Bailey?" Jim probed as soon as the door closed behind the Doctor.

"Hmm?" Bailey said distractedly.

"You'll be fine," Jim said with an encouraging smile, "You're smart and you're did really well on that mission."

Bailey felt a faint warm glow fill her body and she smiled contentedly, "Thanks, Captain."

"Jim," he corrected her. "Oh, and sorry for poisoning you and all." He winked cheerfully at her.

Blushing slightly, the Cadet giggled, "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault."

"According to McCoy I bled everywhere," he said, wrinkling his nose slightly as he picked up the cup of water beside his bed and sipped it slowly.

"Maybe just a little if I remember correctly," Bailey replied, watching as McCoy re-entered the room carrying two plates of food.

"Hope you're hungry," the Doctor told them, placing the plates on their respective bedside tables. Jim looked at the portion of chicken and boiled potatoes with a mixture of uncertainty and incredulity. McCoy caught his expression and rolled his eyes, "Dammit, Jim, just eat it. It's about time you started getting some proper food in you. You're tests are pretty clear so I reckon you can leave tomorrow, but I need to see you eat first. Start small."

"But-," Jim began to protest.

"Eat it," McCoy insisted before turning to Bailey, "And you."

"Yes, sir," Bailey said and picked up the plate carefully. She stabbed a potato with her fork and laughed slightly as Jim poked his food around the plate uncertainly.

* * *

That evening Carly found her way to Commander Spock's office and stood outside uncertainly for a moment with a weird knot in her stomach. Biting her lip, she knocked on the door a few times before stepping back and waiting. A few seconds later the door slid open to let her into the room.

"Cadet Tenibad," Spock said evenly, standing stoically beside the window, gazing out into the grounds outside.

"Commander," Carly said quietly. She watched awkwardly as the Commander turned around to face her with an unreadable expression. "I-."

Before allowing her to speak, Spock interrupted and said, "I believe you are aware of this rather unusual bond we now share. I have reason to believe Cadet Kaitlyne Harrison told you?"

"She told me a bit," Carly nodded, unsure what else to say.

"Well, to my understanding when I performed the mind-meld with you while you were treating me, we created a bond. Normally this would not happen unless there was an extreme emotional transferance. However, it appears that I was somewhat incapacitated so unable to support the meld as well as I otherwise would. As a result of this, we now share a connection allowing for the acute sharing of emotion and thought."

Carly listened the Commander's explaination and blinked. This was a huge amount to take in and it frightened her a little. She thought through what she was going to say carefully for a moment before responding, "So, we're bonded? Is there... I mean, is there any way to break this?"

Spock shook his head slightly, "I initially thought that spending time apart would weaken the strength of the bond but this was not the case. This only led to increased frustration and anger on both parts. If I am right in saying you found you were experiencing emotions that were not your own."

"Yeah," she nodded, "But, sir, does this mean you can feel what I do? And hear what I think?"

"On occasion," Spock told her. He watched her for a moment carefully and the Cadet felt horribly like she was under examination. It was a long awkward moment before the half-Vulcan spoke again and what he said next surprised Carly. She'd been fully expecting Spock to be set firmly against any this bond but it appeared to be not the case. "This bond can have advantages. If you are willing, I think it is fair if we try and find a solution which we are both comfortable with."


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: And this is pretty epic. An update nearly every day for about a week. Sweet. Hope you enjoy it while I go and revise. **

* * *

The Commander and the Cadet were talking for a long time and night had begun to draw in. They were now sitting across from each other at Spock's desk. Carly eventually said, "So you're saying that we should try giving _us _a shot?" She watched her senior officer trying to gauge his reaction but, as per usual, there was no change in his facial expression.

"Yes," Spock said simply.

For a moment both parties sat in silence watching each other. Carly bit her lip thoughtfully as she thought over the prospect of being in a relationship with Commander Spock. As much as she'd crushed on him during her training lectures, she'd never imagined that she'd be having a discussion with him about whether or not they should enter into a serious relationship. However, she couldn't deny the intense feeling she felt towards the half-Vulcan now. She couldn't ignore the way her heart skipped a beat when he suggested they try and have a relationship. As well as that, she didn't _want _to ignore it. "I'd be happy to try," she said after a while. If you are, sir?"

"It seems an adequate and logical solution," Spock mused evenly.

"But are you happy with it?" Carly wanted to know.

Spock didn't answer her question directly. He just simply said, "My feelings are irrelevant to=."

"Sir, if I may, I don't want to do this if you're not happy with it," Carly told him firmly. She met his gaze stubbornly and didn't look away even when he raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Sir," Carly probed.

"If this bond between us works the way it apparently does, then you should know how I feel about it already," Spock said quietly before rising to his feet and walking towards the door and opening it deftly. He stood by the door waiting expectantly for the Cadet to follow him. Getting the hint, Carly got up and headed out into the corridor.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. It felt good to have talked through the issue with Spock. It was like a weight had been lifted. The situation was still somewhat daunting and confusing but at least now neither of them were denying the other.

Spock nodded curtly, "Good night, Cadet."

"It's Carly," she told him, "You can't call me Cadet if we're together. Not when we're alone anyway."

Spock observed her for a moment and then his lips gave the faintest of twitches upwards, "Good night, Carly."

"Good night, Spock," she smiled and turned and headed down the corridor briskly, feeling considerably happier than she had done when she'd walked up the corridor earlier.

* * *

Next morning, Bailey and Jim were awoken early by a considerably more cheerful looking Doctor McCoy. "Rise and shine, kids!" he said brightly.

"What…?" Jim mumbled groggily, blinking up at his friend and doctor in confusion and bewilderment. Bailey sat up slowly in her bed and looked over to where McCoy was standing beside the Captain's bed.

"You're both in the clear!" McCoy told them, "Free to go!"

"What? Into the outside world?" Jim laughed sarcastically, "You know, out _there_?"

Bailey sniggered and sat on the edge of her bed, her hair slightly out of place. "Scary thought," she smiled.

"Come on," McCoy rolled his eyes, "Get up and go. I want a break from looking after you pair." He turned and handed both Jim and Bailey uniforms. Bailey smiled gratefully and wandered over to the screen at the other side of the room to get changed.

"So, we're completely fine now?" she asked as she walked passed McCoy.

"You're clean anyway," he nodded, "No traces of that poison anymore so all that's left for you to do is get your strength back. That shouldn't take more than a few weeks I'm guessing but you don't need to be under constant monitoring anymore."

"You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that," Jim said with relief evident in his voice. "Thanks Bones."

Half an hour later, the pair were dressed and had undertaken final tests from McCoy just to ensure they're blood pressures and heart rates were normal. Upon deciding they were fine, McCoy discharged them and let them out into the corridor outside.

"Well," Jim said, "Freedom, huh?"

"Yeah," Bailey nodded looking around feeling slightly dazed. She already felt tired just walking out into the corridor and it was clear that the Captain felt the same way. He yawned sleepily and smiled, "Well, I'll see you around?"

"Yeah," the Cadet nodded with a small smile, "Yeah I guess you will."


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: Another update! Enjoy everyone! **

* * *

Carly wandered back to her dormitory she shared with Maple and grinned at her friend as she walked in. Maple was sitting in her pyjamas, cross-legged at the foot of her bed looking expectant, "_Well_?" she prompted with a keen and interested smile.

"Well what?" Carly replied, barely concealing her happiness as she headed over to the desk by the window and sat down in the chair

"You know what!" Maple urged mischievously jumping up off her bed and bounding over to her friend and standing in front of her expectantly. She didn't move when Carly tried to get passed her towards her wardrobe. She just folded her arms defiantly and raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Okay, okay!" Carly laughed, "We're… You know, an item."

Maple beamed, "What, seriously? You and the Vulcan?"

"Yeah," Carly nodding and blushing slightly as Maple stood back and let her move. "He said it would be a good solution and we could try and make it work between us."

"Aw!" Maple giggled. "You two would make a cute couple!"

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Bailey McKellar poked her head around the door and waved cheerfully. "Hello!"

"Bailey!" Carly exclaimed, "You're back!"

"Evidently," the other cadet nodded as she came into the room and hurried to hug her friend. To Carly it felt like everything was turning out positive. Maple was back from her placement mission, Bailey had recovered from being poisoned, and she had talked things through with Spock. It was a huge relief to have things making more sense.

Next morning, there was a notice pinned to the green board in the canteen. Commander Spock walked over to it and read it with the rest of the crowd waiting there.

_Today: 1500 hours_

_All members of the U.S.S Enterprise and the U.S.S Majesty are to report to the assembly room for a conference relating to recent events._

_All parties must attend._

Considering the seriousness of the mission they'd newly returned from, Spock wondered what was going to be said at the pending conference. He knew Star Fleet were uncomfortable with what had happened but surely the fact they'd returned everyone safely would count in their favour? He wondered if there had been further consequences of the mission that they were yet unaware of. Just as he joined the queue to pick up his breakfast, the Commander found himself joined by Carly Tenibad and Maple Hood.

"Good morning," Carly smiled nervously as she took her place in the queue for the replicator.

"Good morning," Spock replied with a nod.

"Commander," Maple said politely, trying to suppress her smirk as she looked between her best friend and her old lecturer.

"Are you aware that there is a conference this evening?" Spock asked Carly.

The Cadet shook her head, "No. What for?"

"The crews of both the _Enterprise _and the _Majesty _are required to discuss recent events," Spock explained as he typed into a command to the replicator machine once the engineer in front of him left with a bowl of cereal.

"Okay," Carly nodded, "Well, I guess we'll find out soon then."

And find out they would. Some hours later, the crews of both vessels assembled in the hall and took their places in the seats. Spock sat beside Jim and the other senior members of both crews. The Captain of the _Majesty _had died in the crash but their First Officer sat looking frustrated and angry.

"Do you know what this is about?" Jim asked him as he watched some ensigns filing inside and looking for seats.

"Aye, Captain Kirk," the Officer said in a thick Scottish accent nodding slowly, "But your nae gonnae like it."

"What?" Jim prompted but the First Officer didn't have a chance to reply when the Chairman walked inside and taking a seat at the long table in front of the layers of seats. He looked around seriously for a moment and then said, "I have grave and serious news. I am sorry to tell you all that there have been repercussions of your encounter with the Arden Tribesmen. We have received an urgent alert from New Vulcan. "Jim glanced sideways at Spock and then back down at the Chairman and listened intently as the man said, "The Tribesmen are on their way after making an alliance with a Klingon fleet."


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: So I had a snow day today. I was meant to go into school even though I'm on study leave right now but since it snowed and school closed, my schedule was all out of whack so I decided to update this. Hope you enjoy it! And Josie, you know what my updating means, right? He's mine now! **

* * *

"Star Fleet now finds itself in a state of war and we must defeat this threat," the Chairman said loudly as he gazed around the tense and silent room. "As you all know from your training, Klingons are ruthless enemies and live for the fight. They must be getting something out of this situation. What that is we are as yet uncertain. What we do know is that the Klingons and the Tribesmen are furious with the Federation. We must act as soon as we possibly can in order to kerb the situation before it gets out of hand."

In the pause that followed this question Jim raised his hand with a curious expression, "Sir, if I may, have we had any communications from the Tribesmen?"

The Chairman shook his head slowly, "Not as such, Captain Kirk, but we did intercept a message between the Klingon's and the Arden Tribesmen. There's talk of revenge against the _Enterprise _and I'm sorry to say it but Captain, they're livid at you because they say you broke your promise of peace."

"Sir, it was them who-," Jim began flushing slightly in anger.

"Captain," the Chairman interrupted, "You know that I believe you should have contacted Star Fleet-."

Jim stood up furiously, "What and waste time letting the crew of the _Majesty _die? With respect sir, I believe I acted appropriately in the given circumstances. The Arden Tribesmen already believed that we were trying to attack them. They demanded we surrender. Hesitating any further would-."

"Kirk, sit down," the Chairman snarled furiously.

"But he's right, sir!" came the voice of Jase the half-Vulcan from where he was sitting with his friends. He got to his feet with an expression of anger similar to that of the Captain's, "We were gonna be murdered down there. They'd already killed Captain Brooklyn because they thought she was trying to launch an attack on their planet!"

"Both of you!" the Chairman yelled, "Sit down and listen. Both the crew of the _Majesty _and the _Enterprise _will report for duty if they have recovered enough from their last escapade. The crews of the U.S.S Adams, Assisi, Hawkes, and a fleet of sixteen other vessels will join you in the hanger at zero-eight hundred hours. This will most likely result in head on conflict with the Klingon Armada. All I can say is good luck to all of you. You are dismissed." Rage was evident in the man's face as he concluded his speech. The tension in the hall was as thick as mud. The two crews got to their feet after a small, shocked delay at their briefing and the heated argument between Jim, Jase and the Chairman.

"Kirk!" the Chairman called out with barely concealed fury as the assembly saluted as one and began to file out of the room.

Jim dodged out of the flow towards the door and walked over to his senior officer. "Sir?" he probed as he stood anxiously.

The conversation was polite in an evidently forced fashion. "Are you going to be fit for this mission? It is my understanding that Doctor McCoy just dismissed you from the Medical Bay yesterday," the man said, his brow furrowed in mild concern for the young man standing before him. Jim wondered if it was really concern for him or if it was concern for the mission.

"I'll be fine, sir," Jim said nodding briskly, noting McCoy hesitating by the door and waiting for him with a curious look on his face.

"Have you been cleared you for duty?" the Chairman wanted to know, his sharp blue eyes fixed on the young Captain as he stepped down from behind the podium where he'd delivered his briefing and begun to head towards the door.

"Yes," Jim said firmly casting a brief warning look at his friend whom looked as though he were about to comment on the situation. Catching Jim's expression, McCoy shook his head with narrowed eyes at him.

"Very well," the Chairman nodded, "Report to the hanger at zero-eight hundred hours with the rest of your crew. Good day to you, Captain."

"And you, sir," Jim said saluting and waiting outside in the corridor with McCoy, watching the Chairman stride briskly down the corridor towards some unknown destination.

"I thought something like this might happen," Jim said quietly and bitterly as the two men slowly began to make their way towards the quarters they shared at Star Fleet.

"Jim," McCoy said in annoyance, not acknowledging what the other man had said, "I really don't think you're fit enough to go on this mission. You've just recovered from being really, really sick, dammit! I'm not having you making yourself ill again on some mission that you don't need to go on."

"But I do have to go," Jim retorted in irritation, pausing in his tracks and turning to look at McCoy with a determined glint in his eyes. "You know that!"

McCoy hesitated before he answered, "I guess I do, but Jim-."

"No, Bones, I can't just stay behind," Jim insisted, "You heard what the Chairman said. The Tribesmen want my crew dead. And the _Majesty. _As Captain-."

"You're not just Captain though, Jim," McCoy interrupted, "You can't just walk into a death trap because you feel guilty!"

"Being a Captain's about looking after your crew," Jim told his friend stubbornly, "And if that means giving myself up for them, then so be it." With that, Jim turned and stormed away leaving Doctor McCoy standing looking annoyed and more than a little worried. He knew, deep down, that Jim was right even if he didn't like what he was hearing. Jim was still weak. He wouldn't survive very long if any physical combat should be required. He'd be exhausted within a few hours even just going about his normal routine. McCoy sighed and turned to head back to his quarters to prepare for the imminent departure of the _Enterprise _in a few hours. He'd just have to make sure he was there when Jim needed him.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: Here you go everyone! An update! :D**

* * *

Nobody slept well that night. Anxiety and adrenaline were running high across Star Fleet. Bailey couldn't sleep despite feeling tired. She sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Eventually she swung herself out of her bed and pulled on a pair of jeans over her pyjama trousers. Grabbing a hooded top and pulling it on over her pyjama t-shirt, she headed towards the door intending to go to the library and do some research on the Arden Tribesmen to see if there would be anything useful there. There was no way she'd be able to sleep so she might as well do something at least slightly productive.

As she wandered along the corridor she was slightly surprised when she nearly walked straight into someone. "Oh, sorry!" she said quickly stepping to the side. Then she noticed who she was talking to, "Captain."

"Hey, Bailey," Jim smiled distractedly, "You not sleeping?"

"Evidently not, sir," she shook her head, "I can't sleep."

"Not the only one then," Jim sighed. He looked anxious and weary. Stopping and leaning on the corridor wall he asked, "Where you headed?"

"Library," Bailey replied, "I thought it might help to do some good to read up on what we're fighting. There's only so much information on my PADD… We need something more if we're gonna be able to fight them properly." The young woman smiled embarrassedly and asked, "Where you going?"

"I'm not really sure," Jim sighed, "I just couldn't sleep. I'll come help you in the library."

"Okay," Bailey said, nodding slightly. They walked along in silence for a while through the still brightly lit corridors and leading to darkened lecture theatres and laboratories. Occasionally they could see a machine or an experiment running through the windows on doors. Suddenly, Jim stopped abruptly and Bailey turned to him in alarm. "What is it?"

Jim peered through the window of one classroom. "Look at that…"

The young Cadet stood beside him and looked through the window. She frowned as her eyes became accustomed to the gloom of the room. To her surprise a screen was playing some sort of footage of the Arden Tribesmen's camp on the far wall. "What is it?" she whispered to Jim as they stood back and he opened the door slowly.

"I'm not sure…" he admitted, "A message of some sort."

They crept silently into the room and Jim whispered for the lights to come on. When they did they saw the room was empty. The pair headed cautiously towards the screen just as the film finished playing. "Computer, replay footage," Jim commanded quietly.

They stood together and watched as the film began to replay. Bailey and Jim looked at each other in alarm as they were shown a member of the Arden Tribesmen. He looked absolutely furious.

"This is a message for Captain James Kirk…" The Tribesman spoke slowly and carefully looking into the camera with a murderous look in his eyes. "If you watching this are not Captain Kirk… Bring him here to see this film."

Jim frowned as he watched the Tribesman pause in his speech and flash a cruel smile at them. "What do they want…?" Jim whispered.

"I don't know," Bailey shrugged with her eyes glued to the screen.

The Tribesman began to speak again after a minute, "I'm sending this message to inform you, Captain Kirk, that the Tribesmen want you dead. You and you crew destroyed us when you murdered Captain Vashteken. The campus has fallen into disarray and the rest of the Arden camps across the world are in shock and are rebelling against the traditions we have been brought up with for many generations. The young are beginning to doubt why we continue this fight. All because of _you. _You escaped. You made people wonder if what we're doing is right. We cannot let a leader of unwelcome revolution live unpunished."

Jim's mouth was slightly open as he gaped at the screen in horror. "What…?"

"What are we going to do…?" Bailey asked, "You can't just hand yourself over to them."

"I knew they wouldn't want something from me," Jim snarled furiously as they the Tribesman on the screen laughed cruelly. "I knew it."  
Then the Tribesman started talking again with amusement ringing in his voice, "If you give yourself in, Captain, we'll let the rest of your crew live."

"No they won't," Bailey denied, "They would never do something like that. They don't stop until they've killed everyone."

"I know that," Jim agreed, "I'll just go on my own."

"You can't! That's stupid!" Bailey said, "You're the Captain! The crew need you! We _all _need you."

"You'll manage," Jim said, "If I go on my own, they don't have the option to kill everyone else too."

"You dying won't stop this. We need to come to some agreement with them," Bailey said stubbornly, "Offer them something that'll help them. I don't know, anything, but you can't hand yourself over. It won't work. They'll never stop at one. Never."


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: Josie, I do apologise for what I told you I did. **

* * *

"I'm not letting you go on your own, Jim," Bailey insisted, following the Captain down the corridor as he left the room and made towards the hanger. "You can't! It's suicide!" The young Cadet got the feeling she wasn't being listened to as they hurried along urgently. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back deciding this was not the time to respect the rules and behavioural code. "You know you can't! You could just make things worse!"

Jim raised an eyebrow in annoyance, "And how could things get any worse?" He looked incredulous and disbelieving and Bailey could see he was pretty set on going solo.

"Because we'll have lost our best crewmember! If you die and this war carries on what are we going to do?" she bit her lip slightly when she'd finished speaking and let go of his arm slowly. "I'm sorry, but you're wrong!"

"So what do you suggest we do?" Jim demanded in annoyance, "Just lead everyone to their deaths?"

"If we fight this properly then we won't all die," Bailey reasoned seriously.

Just then, another figure appeared beside them. "What is wrong, Captain? I heard your voice from the other end of the corridor."

"Commander Spock!" Bailey saluted politely and blushed slightly, embarrassed to be caught acting out of her station by Spock.

"Cadet," Spock nodded before looking between the pair curiously, "What is the problem?"

"Sir, if I may…?" Bailey began slowly.

"Yes?" Spock said. He watched the Cadet with interest as he waited for her to explain.

"The Captain and I found a video," she said uncomfortably. "It was from the Arden Tribesmen."

"They want me dead, Spock. They said if they get me they'll leave the rest of the Federation alone," Jim interrupted quickly, flushing with anger and frustration, "Which is why I have to go now before the Chairman or whoever tries to stop me."

"Am I to understand that Cadet McKellar is suggesting you don't go?"

"Yes," Bailey nodded watching Jim intently. "It'll never work. I did a dissertation on the Arden Tribesmen. They'll never stop at one unless they actually gain something from that."

"You can't be sure," Jim said stubbornly.

"I think the Cadet is right," Spock said, "It is illogical to run into battle and sacrifice yourself without a real guarantee that the rest of the fleet will be safe." The half-Vulcan looked sombre and serious as he observed the young Captain whom was evidently uncomfortable with the situation. Bailey nodded in agreement with the Commander and quietly prayed that Jim would just accept what they were saying.

The Captain sighed in annoyance and then said, "So what do you suggest we do, Spock?"

"I suggest we follow the Chairman's plan and rendezvous with the Arden Tribesmen, then hail them and come up with some sort of agreement," Commander Spock explained evenly The intensity of his gaze drilled into the Captain as he leaned on the wall and stared up at the roof in frustration.

"That could work," he agreed slowly.

Several hours later, Carly Tenibad woke up with a start. She glanced at her clock which was yet to ring and saw it was still quite early. She'd had very little sleep but she knew then she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

"Carly, you awake?" came a voice from the other side of the room.

"Yeah," Carly nodded, "You ready for this?"

"As I'll ever be I guess," Maple said before calling for the lights to turn on. She sat up in bed and crossed her legs taking a deep breath and looking around. "We don't have much choice do we?"

"Nope," Carly laughed slightly.

"Seriously, I'm home for a few days and then I have to go and clear up your crew's mess!" Maple joked as Carly got up and walked over to the dresser and picked up her hairbrush.

"It's not my fault!" Carly laughed. "Lets just hope this works out well."

"Tell me about it."


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note: I know it took a while to be here. It would have been up last night but we blew the Internet download limit. Epic. Fail. Anyway, back to homework, I guess! Oh happy days! But hey, today should be a good day. And Maple, just like your ship was randomly named after a book sitting beside me, your Captain is named after a marker pen. I was sitting in French and a Berol Marker was in my pencil case. Hence the name. It's better than Crayola. Trust me.**

* * *

At ten to eight in the morning, the hanger began to fill up with crewmembers of the _Enterprise, _the _Adams, _the _Majesty, _and the other four vessels that had been assigned to the mission. Jim was tense and restless as he stood before his ever-loyal crew and explained their task. Everyone listened closely but the feeling of nervousness was one they all shared.

"Damn, I hope this works," Bailey whispered to Kaitlyne as they made their way to their stations.

"It will," Kaitlyne said confidently, "Kirk knows what he's doing."

"I know he does," Bailey agreed, walking purposefully up the ramp on board the shuttle that would take them to the ship, "But it still doesn't stop me worrying about this. The Arden Tribesmen are demons."

* * *

For Maple Hood, this was the first actual mission she'd been on. The last voyage she'd joined on the _U.S.S Adams _had been purely routing. Now, however, she found herself in the hanger with numerous other crews, all aiming towards the same somewhat uncertain goal. The young Cadet glanced over to where her friends were boarding the shuttle bound for the _Enterprise. _Bailey McKellar whom she'd just met was looking irritable and stressed. Maple could tell just from the way the young woman was walking, with her shoulders tensed and biting her lips slightly. Kaitlyne Harrison was talking to her with a serious expression. Maple wondered what they were discussing. Something was evidently wrong.

"Crew!"

Captain Berol, who held captaincy of the Adams, drew her attention suddenly by shouting loudly_. _Everyone turned to look at him, waiting patiently for their orders. The Captain explained, "In ten minutes wee will be boarding the shuttle. Are you aware of the mission at hand?"

There was a general murmur of ascent from the crew. Commander Douglas stood forward and turned to face the sea of eager and anxious team. "This will not be like our last mission. We will be required, more than likely, to fight. We must be prepared."

Captain Berol nodded his agreement, "This is true. We'll be following the _Enterprise _and serving as backup should they require it. Good luck, everyone. Dismissed."

Maple's heart skipped a beat when the crew was disbanded and they immediately began to march purposefully towards the shuttle in near perfect synchronicity. This was the moment she'd been building up to; her first proper mission.

"Look sharp, Cadet?" her commanding officer, Engineer Thomson asked as they walked up the ramp into the shuttle.

"Yes, Sir," Maple nodded with a small smile. She felt her jaw clench as she watched him stride off to the right to find a chair. He was a bitter man who lacked patience with new recruits – in fact, he lacked patience with everyone. Maple longed to be on another ship – perhaps the _Enterprise. _Still, the _Adams _was where she'd been assigned and she could be there for years. As she thought this, she glanced over at Engineer Thomson and quietly glared at his retreating bald head. She would just have to learn to get along with him despite his arrogant nature.

* * *

Sometimes, missions were frightening and uncertain, with the outcome unclear – even sometimes the course of action was unclear. This was definitely one of those times. Back with the _Enterprise, _Captain Jim Kirk was talking in hushed tones to Commander Spock as they boarded the vessel having just docked in the _Enterprise_ closely followed by the rest of the fleet.

"This could start a war between the Klingons, the Tribesmen and the Federation," the Captain reasoned as he strode purposefully down the pristine white corridors towards the Bridge.

"Certainly," the Commander agreed with a brief nod, "However if handled correctly we could bring peace."  
"Lets just hope," Jim sighed as the door slid open in front of him to let him on to the Bridge. He took his place in the Captain's chair and took a deep breath. "This should work fine, if we're careful."

"Yes," Spock said as he stood at Jim's right hand side. The rest of the Bridge crew filed in and took their places, saluting politely as they passed.  
"Right, team," Jim said loudly once everyone was settled, "Lets go sort out this mess."

"Captain…" Sulu said, spinning around in his chair with wide eyes, "We might have to do some sorting sooner than we thought. The Tribesmen vessels are in range already."


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note: It was actually pretty easy to write this update because I was meant to be revising. It's always easy to update when I'm meant to be studying. No matter. Enjoy, everyone!**

* * *

"Hail them," Jim commanded firmly, standing at the forefront of the Bridge, in view of the screen where the Tribesman representative would be displayed if they accepted the greeting.

"Aye, sir," Chekov nodded already punching in codes. In less than a minute, the same Tribesman that Jim had seen on the video back at the base was pulled up in front of him.

The Captain tensed but stood his ground, displaying his well-practised look of authority and complete control. His eyes were dark and clouded with quiet fury but he kept his tone civil while he spoke. "We come in peace," he said evenly, not taking his eyes away from the screen.

"Do you?" came the feral snarl from the Tribesman, "Do you really? You destroyed most of our camp. You killed our leader."

"You were going to kill us first," Jim countered. His expression was cold and it was immediately clear to everyone watching that he wasn't going to give in until he'd succeeded in what he was planning to do – or died trying.

"Your federation ships were invading our territory," the Tribesman said with dark hooded eyes daring them to argue, daring them to fight.

"A mere accident. A crash. The _U.S.S Majesty _could have landed anywhere. We're sorry it happened to be your planet. For that, we're sorry," Jim said evenly with only the slightest tremor of anger in his voice. The half-Vulcan Commander slowly walked forwards and stood beside the Captain. Jim turned to him and smiled slightly.

The Tribesman gave a bitter laugh, "I trust you received my warning video?"

"Yes," Jim said darkly.

"So you are aware you will not leave this situation alive?"

Jim paused before he opened his mouth to answer. He was interrupted, however, by Commander Spock, "I am of the opinion we can come to some sort of arrangement."

This was met by an angry sneer, "Are you really?"

"Yes," Spock and Jim answered together looking equally determined. The Commander carried on with a slightly raised eyebrow, "Surely there's something we can offer you to appease?"

The Tribesman laughed triumphantly. "We do not wish to bargain with you; we just want you dead. And you're whole fleet are going down with you. The Klingons are with us. Too long has the federation thwarted them! Today, you die, Captain Kirk."

There was a moment of intense tension on board. Cadet McKellar looked up from her station with wide-eyes, all too aware that the plan for discussion had failed. There could be no peace now, not until every member of either side was dead.

"Oh I don't think so," Jim said coldly. Then he gave the command for the link to be disconnected and he looked around at the Bridge crew gravely for a few moments.

"Let's just get this over with." The Captain sighed and sat down in his chair. His head was pounding and he was already feeling exhausted. It was only a matter of moments before messages were flying between the Star Fleet ships; it turned out that the message had been relayed to every vessel in the fleet. "Fire at will," Jim said quietly. "Take them down. Shields at maximum."

"Understood," Sulu said sombrely punching in several commands. Everyone on the Bridge had gone oddly silent and purposeful.

"Either they die today, or we do," Jim said slowly, "Lets make sure it's them. Give me numbers. How many are we facing?"

"Approximatly seventeen Tribesmen vessels and an average fleet of Klingons," Sulu reported promptly, looking at the scanners in front of him and noting the facts. "From what I can tell, they're pretty well armed. It would appear the Arden Tribesmen are more advanced in their space technology than they are with what they use on their planet surface. It would be safe to assume we're not going to face simple bullets this time."

The Captain picked up his comm. link and turned it on carefully. "Kirk to McCoy…"

"McCoy here," came the voice of the ever-faithful Chief Medical officer.

"Prepare to receive injured crew members," Jim said with pain evident in his voice. He'd barely put down the comm. when the first of many missiles hit the ship. An alarm bell started howling on the Bridge like a wounded animal.

"Let the chaos begin," Jim said softly to himself.


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note: Thanks, Voldy, for your help with some of this chapter! I just changed it a bit to work with my original idea. Enjoy! A long chapter too! Yay!**

* * *

Explosions. The air was filled with loud bangs from every inch of the Enterprise. "Shields at seventy-seven percent," Sulu informed the ship. Doctor McCoy sighed in frustration with his jaw set as he walked around trying to treat several injured crewmembers from one of the lower decks where a pipe had collapsed.

Carly watched him quietly and carried on tending to an Engineer with a scolded hand, carefully bandaging it after she'd treated it. The whole ship lurched suddenly with the impact of what must have been several missiles at once. Carly stumbled and gripped the bio-bed tightly. She just hoped the all survived this mission. She could feel an odd sort of controlled worry building up in her head that didn't belong to her. She could only assume it had something to do with how Spock was feeling but it made it difficult to focus anyway. She took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. She had a job to do. She couldn't go and help Spock whether she wanted to or not.

Suddenly, there was a deafening bang over the speakers. Carly looked up in alarm just as McCoy announced, "The Bridge!"

As a sharp pain shot through her brain, Carly tore out of the medical bay towards the Bridge, completely giving up on her recent resolution to stay away from Spock. As she hurtled along the corridor she ran into Kaitlyne Harrison and Engineer Scott whom were both sprinting towards the Bridge, tools in hand.

When the door of the Bridge hissed open they all piled in and Scotty called out, "What happened, lad?" as he skidded to a halt beside Jim.

The young Captain looked bewildered and shocked but was doing a good job of staying in control. "We've lost connections with one of the main engines… Something's broken down. Until you fix that, we're sitting ducks.

"I'm on it," Scotty acknowledged, "Harrison, with me."

"Aye sir," the Cadet nodded and went immediately to help him with repairs.

"Tenibad…" Jim said, noticing the Medical Cadet standing the in doorway, "See to Chekov." It was clear that the young Ensign had been caught in the blast from the explosion. Carly sprang into action and immediately hurried to the young man's side and quickly assessed the damage; burns of a varying degree and a potentially dislocated shoulder. She helped the Ensign to his feet and began to support him back to the Medical Bay. On the way out of the door she caught Spock's eye and he simply nodded at her. It was enough though; she knew he was all right.

"Shields?" Jim asked loudly over the noise of crackling electricity.

"Fifty percent and dropping, Sir," Sulu replied tensely.

"If we hang around here any longer, we're gonna be blown out of the sky," Jim said bitterly.

"We could try…No," Kaitlyne contemplated out loud but she shook her head slowly after a moment. "That won't work."

"What?" Jim demanded urgently, "We need to do something."

"We could risk wiping out the whole fleet!" Kaitlyne said anxiously.

"No…" Bailey said, looking up from her station where she was taping in code after code trying to find weaknesses in the Tribesmen/Klingon attack. "If you're thinking about… Damn, Kaitlyne, we can't!"

"The Fusion Matrix?" Kaitlyne said quietly. "We could try…"

"No," Spock said immediately shaking his head sharply once. "We can't even contemplate trying that."

"Is that-," Jim began, trying to remember something they'd been taught back at the Academy.

"The U.S.S Armada used the Fusion Matrix," Bailey explained with wide-eyes, "They did it despite cautions from the Professor Henry Anderson… It hadn't been tested. They successfully wiped out the whole attacking fleet-."

Jim's eye lit up with something resembling wild hope, "Then what are we waiting for?"

"They wiped out their entire fleet too," Bailey said bitterly.

"I've heard of that," Scotty said with a small frown as he wiped beads of sweat from his brow while working at Sulu's station to fix the Engine link. "I've researched it in some depth."

"And?" Jim probed, still desperate to see a solution in this plan.

"And there could be a different way of working it," the Engineer said with a small smile, "But you're going to have to trust me."

"I do," Jim nodded firmly.

"Well, if you were to polarise the Matrix code and apply a simple molecular shield theory to deter parts of the Matrix returning to us because of a simple antimagnetic force -."

"We could fire the Matrix into the heart of their armada without the risk of it wiping out our fleet too!" Kaitlyne Harrison grinned widely, seeing the logic in this plan.

"Which would result in the explosion targeting the Klingon and Tribesmen's ships. As impossible as that idea seems, the logic behind it is sound. If you succeed, Mr Scott, in reconfiguring the Fusion Matrix, the likelihood of overall success is approximately 89.3%." Spock nodded in acceptance of this plan, turning to the Captain to see his reaction.

"Which, in English means that it might work," Kaitlyne grinned in response to this.

They're moment of euphoria was short-lived when a message came through from another vessel in the fleet. "Captain Berol to Captain Kirk!"

"Continue," Jim said glancing at the screen where the Captain of the_ Adams _had appeared.

"Permission to beam aboard? Our ship isn't going to hold up much longer," the other Captain seemed distressed and desperate; there was worry creased deep in his forehead as he spoke.

"Permission granted," Jim nodded before picking up his comm. link again and flipping it open, "Kirk to Transporter Room. Prepare to receive the _U.S.S Adams_ crew."

"Aye, sir!" came the response.

"Scotty," the Captain said to the Engineer, "Get onto creating the Fusion Matrix now. Spock, Harrison, help him. Make it snappy."

"Consider it done," Kaitlyne said proudly she followed Spock and Scotty over to another computer, another Engineer appearing to fix the Engine link.

"Well, it better be!" Sulu interrupted, "Because there's more of Tribesmen ships moving in as we speak."

"They're hailing us," Uhura spoke up, surprised. "Will we accept?"

"Yes," Jim nodded, overwhelmed by a burning curiosity. He watched the screen as an image of an Arden Tribesman appeared on it. The man was smiling slightly – but in a friendly way, which confused the entire Bridge crew.

"What do you want?" Jim demanded, eyes flashing dangerously.

"To help you," the Tribesman said simply, "Our planet was thrown into revolution. We will not fight a war we do not believe in. We shall no longer fight with the Hularons. This battle was of our forefathers. We will not fight."

"So you're here to-."

"To assist in eliminating our superiors. They decided they should be the ones to bring you down. We decided we should bring them down. Do you accept our offer?" the young Tribesman said.

Shock was absolute on the Bridge. Bailey McKellar was gaping slightly at the screen; what she was hearing didn't add up to anything she'd ever read in her notes before. Jim glanced around at his team; the trio working frantically on the Fusion Matrix, the confused Researcher, the Engineer working desperately to reconnect their Engines… "I accept. But listen to what I say very carefully. We have a plan."


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Note: This is nearly the end of this story! :O I like this chapter. :) Enjoy, everyone!**

* * *

The Captain stared intently at the Arden Tribesmen on the screen as he spoke, never breaking his gaze. "Right. You cannot interfere with our actions in any way. We're going to-."

"We can't tell them the plan," Bailey said, jumping to her feet and hurrying to stand beside the Captain in front of the screen where the Tribesmen rebels were watching. Turning to Jim the Cadet continued, "We have no way of guaranteeing they're on our side. If we tell them the plan, then they can act against it." She was having difficulty believing what was being said. Even if it was true, they couldn't take any risks when they were in such a dangerous situation.

"I know that," Jim replied, nodding in agreement. His eyes were serious and set. He took Bailey's arm and turned so they were both facing away from the screen, "We're not going to tell them. We're going to tell them something fake to get them out of the way."

"Uh huh?" Bailey said with a slightly raised eyebrow, "What if they attack once we blow up the rest of their fleet?"

"Then we fight them if we have to," Jim said with a sigh. "But I want them in the centre of _our _fleet so they're in no position to attack us – they'll be surrounded."

"Makes sense," Bailey agreed slowly as she thought through the plan.

"We need them out of the way of their fleet anyway," Jim reasoned, "If they get blown to pieces and they _are _trying to help us, we could start another war."

"Yes," Bailey nodded, "A war we'd have difficulty winning."

"Right, keep a close eye on them. Once I'm done explaining what's going on, bring up a link with their leader at your station. Whatever happens, keep them in contact," Jim ordered before turning back to the screen and sending the Cadet hurrying back to her seat. He set about explaining to the rebel Tribesmen exactly what he wanted them to do before he hurried over to the team working on the Fusion Matrix on someone's PADD and uploading into the _Enterprise _computers. "How are we getting on?"

"Two minutes," Kaitlyne replied, flushed slightly with the tension of the situation. Spock was frantically tapping keys, perfectly focussed on his task.

"Speed it up," Jim commanded as he looked out of the window in front of him at the attacking armada.

"Shields at thirty-seven percent," Sulu commented loudly. Time was running out – fast.

"Transporter room to the Bridge," came a voice over the loud speaker.

"Go ahead," Jim nodded while he watched the rest of the Bridge crew trying to restore shields and keep them out of danger.

"Crew from the _Adams _are beaming on board. What do you want them to do?"

Jim thought for a moment and then said, "Send them to help in their usual posts… Relieve any injured crew."

"Understood."

* * *

The _Enterprise _was so much more modern than the _Adams; _that was the first fact that hit Maple Hood as she stepped out of the landing pad. Being a much newer vessel, she had the most modern technology and the young Cadet was dying to explore. But she had a job to do. She, as ordered by the young woman in the transporter room, had to go down to the lower deck to help the Engineers.

She wondered with mixed feelings the fate of the _U.S.S Adams. _They'd been forced to evacuate onto other ships in the fleet when their shields had failed under siege. The outlook wasn't good.

Sighing, the Cadet hurried down a corridor, quickly trying to figure out where to go. She guessed the set up couldn't be that different to her own ship. She turned left down a pristine white corridor with several other members of the crew. She skidded to a halt when she noticed the roof was collapsing above her. Fuses were sparking viciously and threatened to set alight to the rest of the ship. She couldn't just walk away and leave it like that. Smiling slightly, she knew this was her chance to prove herself to her sceptical superiors. She could fix this.

"All crew should prepare for possible turbulence," the Captain's voice came over the speakers. Maple frowned. She knew the _Enterprise _had some sort of plan involving blasting the whole enemy fleet out of the sky – her own Captain had mentioned this before they'd evacuated. Noticing a store cupboard, the Cadet tugged it open and grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the sparking wires trailing down the wall. Any more impact could set the whole place alight.

* * *

Back on the Bridge, Jim bit his lip with a set, dark expression on his face. He looked out at the enemy fleet and then shut his eyes slowly, "Fire."  
Immediately, the coded missile was launched out into the silence of space. Having given the command, the Captain opened his eyes again and, along with the rest of the Bridge crew, watched as missile flew towards the enemy. Several shots were fired at it as it approached but every one missed. Just as it flew into an area in the middle of the roughly organised fleet it began to explode. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Shards of the missile flew outwards and the ripples were almost visible as the shockwaves resounded through the enemy fleets. Lights started flashing on their ships as the Fusion Matrix scrambled their systems, explosions flying through every vessel. Then suddenly, the entire fleet began to explode into balls of orange flame, spreading from the location of the missile right out to the edges of the fleet. Like dominos, ship after ship met their doom.

Parts of the exploding ships hit the Star Fleet ships and the shockwaves shook them. Several crewmembers lost their footing but nothing further happened. Smouldering ashes were crushed in the vacuum of space and then the only people left were Star Fleet and the Tribesmen rebels – whom had done nothing throughout the attack. Bailey McKellar looked back at the screen and saw the Tribesman they'd been talking to earlier staring out of his ship window with an oddly blank expression mixed with something of relief.

Jim's face split into a tired but glad grin, "Nice work, team."


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Note: And this is the finale! There might be a sequel sometime, depending on my school. I hope you've enjoyed the story! Thank you for all your support!**

* * *

"Well…" Jim said stunned. The entire Bridge seemed to be consumed by a shocked and relieved silence. Those near windows were watching outside. The entire Tribesman and Klingon fleet had been completely obliterated.

"Captain?" Bailey probed tentatively, pointing to her screen, "The Tribesmen rebels want to talk to you."

"Put them on the screen," Jim nodded, giving the Cadet the go-ahead. Moments later the image of the Tribesman they'd spoken to earlier filled the screen at the front of the Bridge. He seemed understandably sad, but not angry. His dark eyes were set and miserable

Everyone listened in as the Tribesman said, "Captain Kirk." When Jim remained silent, the man carried on, "We witnessed your defeat of the Elder Warriors… An entire part of our society has been wiped out. For that, we feel sorry yet we thank you. Things across our world will be different from here on in. Perhaps peace can be made with the Hularons. We thank you for giving us this opportunity."

"You're welcome," Jim said, clearly unsure as to what to say. "I'm sorry so many lives had to be lost."

"It was necessary," the Tribesman said with a small smile. It was an odd expression to see on the face of an Arden Tribesman after spending so long with cold sneers being thrown at them. The man carried on, "In the long run, Star Fleet will have brought peace to our people. Which, I believe, is the aim of your federation?"

"Yes, it is," Jim confirmed. He smiled slightly before saying, "Perhaps in the future Telhularon Seven and Star Fleet can come to some sort of agreement regarding protection."

"Perhaps," the Tribesman agreed, nodding gratefully, "Until then, Captain Kirk, _ashteka blaren hu_. Goodbye for now." With that, he ended the video link and left the Bridge crew looking at a blanks screen.

"Mission accomplished then?" Scotty said with a wide grin as he made his way towards the exit.

Jim slapped the Scot's shoulder in thanks and nodded wearily, "Yeah, I guess so." Turning to the young Engineer whom had just stood up from Sulu's station as Scotty walked out, "Engine's fixed?"

"Good to go, sir," the Engineer said happily.

"Thank you. Take us home, Sulu."

* * *

Maple cursed as she got to her feet wincing. The blast from the Fusion Matrix had thrown her to the ground and she'd hurt her wrist. She had, however, managed to stop the sparking wires above her head before they'd turned in to a fire.

Hearing footsteps, she turned around and saw a man she'd recognise anywhere. Quickly, she saluted and grimaced slightly at the pain that shot down her arm. "Engineer Scott!" she said, wide eyed and dazed. She felt more star struck now than she had done when she'd met the lead singer of her favourite band at a concert in high school.

"Are ye hurt lass?" the Scots man asked sympathetically, pausing beside the young Cadet as he strode down the corridor. She was rubbing her left wrist wincing slightly as it throbbed.

"I'll be fine," she said stubbornly, forcing a grin onto her face.

"I'll tak' ye to the medical bay. Get that checked out," he said taking her arm firmly and guiding the grinning Cadet down the corridor.

* * *

It didn't take very long after that for the fleet to dock back at Star Fleet. After the formalities had taken place, there were rumours of a party taking place in one of the nearby pubs. It was going to be some sort of celebration that they were all still alive and not in a million pieces in space. So it happened, that a large number of the fleet made their way to the pub after seven o' clock. Bailey, Kaitlyne, Carly, Maple and Fallyn all made their way to the bar together talking animatedly. All five were tired but more than anything, they were relieved.

"-And so he took me to the Medical bay and he told me I'd done well to stop that fire without frying the internal connections," Maple was telling her friends proudly. She'd just finished recounting the story of her meeting with Engineer Scott whose Beaming theory she'd done a dissertation on.

"Aw!" Carly said with a grin, "That's cute! So, you think you might be in with a chance of a final placement onboard the _Enterprise_?"

"I hope so!" Maple grinned happily, rubbing her still painful and bandaged wrist. "We'll wait and see!"

"So how's things with Spocko?" Kaitlyne asked with a sly smile, "Are you and him a proper item yet?"

"Working on it," Carly laughed back, blushing slightly. Maybe tonight she could speak to the Commander and sort a few things out. It was about time they had a good discussion about each other.

Just then, Bailey spotted the Captain standing by the bar looking lost in thought. "Hang on, I'll be right back." She wandered over to the sandy haired man, pushing her way through the crowds and sat down beside him in the vacant chair. "Jim."

"Bailey," he smiled, suddenly brought back to reality.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I just… I don't know how we survived that," Jim laughed almost bitterly, "But damn I'm glad we did."

"Oddly enough, me too," Bailey remarked with a small chuckle. It would have been very inconvenient if they'd all died.

"You did well, for a new recruit. You all did. I'm impressed," the Captain told her as he swirled his drink around in the glass, gazing into to it.

"It's just how we learnt… From the best, and all," Bailey grinned, resting her chin on her hand as she watched his reaction.

"Yeah, well. You could say that," Jim said confidently winking at her.

Right then, new Cadets and longer-serving members of Star Fleet shared a common thought: with friends, you can take on just about any enemy. And sometimes, just sometimes, things just work out well when you take a risk.


End file.
